Security National Bank Purchases 831 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Security National Bank raised its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the quarter. Security National Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 772 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $142,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in KLA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,880 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in KLA by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 696 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $726,555,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $893.46 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $768.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $720.69. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 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. The company has a market capitalization of $118.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.