KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC raised its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 65.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 3.8% during the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in KLA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors boosted its position in KLA by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $807.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of KLAC opened at $893.00 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The company has a market capitalization of $118.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $744.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $712.21. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board 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.

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