300 Shares in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Private Wealth Partners LLC

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its position in KLA by 160.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 0.7%

KLAC stock traded up $6.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $856.28. 1,310,184 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,125,471. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $759.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $718.30. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $914.83. The company has a market cap of $113.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. 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 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. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $807.06.

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.