KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Bank of Stockton

Bank of Stockton decreased its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,056 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up 0.9% of Bank of Stockton’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,928 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 150.2% during the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Security National Bank grew its holdings in KLA by 18.0% during the first quarter. Security National Bank now owns 5,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,699,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $893.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $768.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $720.69. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $914.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The company’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.39.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% 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, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.