Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Buys 978 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,190 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $11,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $815.39.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded down $13.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $889.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,175,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,588. The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $778.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $724.65. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

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.