KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its investment in KLA Corporation by 126.0% during the 1st quarter, holding shares valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing additional shares.
• KLA recently reported earnings of $9.38 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, marking a 23.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.90 per share and initiated a $5 billion stock buyback plan, indicating the board's confidence in its stock's valuation.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 126.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,573 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $2,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 40.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $886.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $945.87. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $875.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $769.16.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 119.79% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

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

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Profile

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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