KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 34.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,867 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 2,035 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in KLA were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 375 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in KLA by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,429 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 2,583 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $807.06.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $850.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $755.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $716.33. The stock has a market cap of $112.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 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 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. Corporate 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.

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.