KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,222 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,900 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of KLA worth $111,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of KLA by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

KLA Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $4.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $924.58. 570,461 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,138,335. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $122.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $932.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $826.84 and a 200 day moving average of $743.47.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

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.