Rossby Financial LCC Takes $527,000 Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 759 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in KLA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded down $6.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $914.70. The company had a trading volume of 489,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,561. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $928.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $803.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $733.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. 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. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upped 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. TD Securities upped 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA 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 Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $818.06.

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.