Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 465 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,784 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in KLA were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 270.0% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% 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 worth $8,196,798 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $2.74 on Monday, reaching $921.84. The stock had a trading volume of 567,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $826.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $744.14. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $932.17. The company has a market cap of $121.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

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.