Stephens Inc. AR Sells 378 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 45.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 458 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in KLA were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in KLA by 1.6% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 39,243 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,677,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 3.4% in the first quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 554 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.1% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 847 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 8.0% during the first quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 940 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $931.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $850.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $753.70. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA 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 owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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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