OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Sells 63 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lessened its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,336 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 1.2% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors boosted its stake in KLA by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 2.4%

KLAC stock opened at $871.16 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $914.83. The company has a market capitalization of $115.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $751.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $714.72. 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 (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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. 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 of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $807.06.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.