KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Lifted by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,077 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $4,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.6% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,230 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,309,000 after buying an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,190 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,686,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.3% during the first quarter. EWA LLC now owns 339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.4% during the first quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,680 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,620,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $815.39.

KLA Stock Up 3.8%

KLA stock opened at $889.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $117.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $763.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $719.49.

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, 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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.