First Affirmative Financial Network Purchases 41 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in KLA were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its position in KLA by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,093,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $795.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $808.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $106.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $710.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $700.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Company 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.