KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,875 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in KLA were worth $11,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 85.0% in the first quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 912 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 65.7% in the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its stake in shares of KLA by 10.8% in the first quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth $772,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $807.06.

KLA Stock Down 2.4%

KLAC stock traded down $21.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $850.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,347,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,278. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $914.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $751.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $714.72.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

About KLA

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.