KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,573 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in KLA by 527.3% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $858.19.

KLA Stock Up 1.0%

KLAC stock opened at $924.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $870.25 and a 200-day moving average of $766.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA’s payout ratio is 27.63%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction 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 $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 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.