PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Has $3.74 Million Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co lowered its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 35.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co's holdings in KLA were worth $3,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $807.06.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC traded down $6.86 on Wednesday, hitting $886.14. 268,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,117,599. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $914.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $744.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $712.21.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company'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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.