KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 35.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,506 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,374 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in KLA were worth $1,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities raised their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $852.56.

KLA Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of KLAC opened at $892.22 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $850.60 and its 200-day moving average is $754.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The firm has a market cap of $117.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.42.

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 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board 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 $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.