Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Grows Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,355 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 590 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 0.6% of Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $5,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 3.8% during the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.89.

KLA Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $919.22 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $812.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $737.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.56 billion, a PE ratio of 33.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $928.02.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm'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. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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