Bailard Inc. Sells 1,561 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bailard Inc. decreased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of KLA by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,502,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 11,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $980.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $840.33.

KLA Trading Down 0.3%

KLAC opened at $933.49 on Thursday. 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 cap of $123.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $841.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $748.68. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $942.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Corporate 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.