KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Position Lessened by Factory Mutual Insurance Co.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. decreased its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,952 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 23,600 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in KLA were worth $42,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $807.06.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $21.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $871.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,428,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,038. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $744.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $712.21. The stock has a market cap of $115.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.