Nilsine Partners LLC Buys 641 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,909 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $4,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors boosted its position in KLA by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $850.00 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. 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 market capitalization of $112.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $755.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $715.99.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. 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 research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $807.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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