Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 2,693 KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $750,638,000 after buying an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $893.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $914.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $744.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $712.21. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $807.06.

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.