Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Purchases Shares of 408 KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 408 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its stake in KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $818.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Down 0.7%

KLAC stock opened at $914.70 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $799.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $731.20. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $928.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The company 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 company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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