KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,331 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 2,084 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $24,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KLAC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Securities raised their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $807.06.

KLA Trading Up 0.1%

KLA stock opened at $893.00 on Wednesday. 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 $118.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $744.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $712.21.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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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