Cresset Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in KLA by 527.3% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,908 shares of company stock valued at $18,038,659. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $883.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $959.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $903.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $782.31.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share 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 112.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $950.00 target price (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $890.59.

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.