Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 363 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,103 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,626,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $936.53 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $836.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $747.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $123.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $942.34.

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,035.00 price target (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $840.33.

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.