KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 42.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,390 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors' holdings in KLA were worth $5,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in KLA by 527.3% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in KLA by 270.0% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $937.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $945.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $850.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $754.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

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

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $852.56.

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.

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