Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 735 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 49.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 765 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in KLA were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in KLA by 18.1% during the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in KLA by 25.6% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.1% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,595 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in KLA by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,042 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen increased 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. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 target price (up from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $3.59 on Thursday, hitting $937.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,135,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,631. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $942.36. The company has a market cap of $123.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $841.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $748.68. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 posted $5.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

About KLA

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.