Wedbush Securities Inc. Decreases Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,893 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 319 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $2,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.9% during the first quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 10,882 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,398,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 20.4% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,718 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,764,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.0% during the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.2% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 583 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $7.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $904.18. 547,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 852,070. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $945.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $119.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $859.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $759.86.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $852.56.

KLA Company 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.