OneAscent Financial Services LLC Makes New $606,000 Investment in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 892 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in KLA by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 203,744 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $128,383,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,711 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $53,378,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $772,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $481,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lifted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $852.56.

KLA Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $937.76 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $850.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $754.52. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87. The firm has a market cap of $124.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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%. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value 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 through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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