Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Buys Shares of 294 KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT recently acquired 294 shares of KLA Corporation valued at approximately $200,000 during the first quarter.
• KLA Corporation reported EPS of $9.38 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $8.53, and showed a 23.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $5 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the value of its shares, alongside announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 294 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of KLA by 527.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $914.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $888.42 and its 200-day moving average is $774.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. TD Securities upped their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

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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