KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 805,404 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 47,846 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.61% of KLA worth $547,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after buying an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $3.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $923.18. 600,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,137,085. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $812.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $737.73. The stock has a market cap of $122.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $931.09. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Securities increased 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $833.89.

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.