AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $213,000 Investment in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 314 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,787,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in KLA by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,502,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,178,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $893.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $118.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $768.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $720.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.