KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $807.06.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $871.16 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $747.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $713.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $115.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.