Private Wealth Partners LLC Invests $204,000 in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Private Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 300 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 2.4%

KLAC opened at $871.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $914.83. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $751.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $714.72.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $807.06.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA 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 owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% 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, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% 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 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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