KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is Dakota Wealth Management's Largest Position

Dakota Wealth Management reduced its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 878,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 18,160 shares during the period. KLA makes up 14.0% of Dakota Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Dakota Wealth Management owned about 0.66% of KLA worth $596,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth about $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 527.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 270.0% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.6%

KLA stock traded up $5.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $938.73. The stock had a trading volume of 661,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,101. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $942.34. The firm has a market cap of $124.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $841.30 and a 200 day moving average of $748.68.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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 analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 price target (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $840.33.

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.