L & S Advisors Inc Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

L & S Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $886.64 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $945.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $875.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $769.16.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 119.79%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.60 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.