Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Takes $429,000 Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Affinity Investment Advisors LLC has taken a new position in KLA Corporation, acquiring 631 shares valued at approximately $429,000 during the first quarter of the year.
• KLA's CEO, Richard P. Wallace, recently sold 10,801 shares at an average price of $913.68, marking a 10.42% decrease in his holdings, while total insider stock sales in the past 90 days reached nearly $18 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for KLA stock, with JPMorgan increasing its target from $900 to $1,070, reflecting a positive outlook despite a recent 8.4% decline in share value.

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 631 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in KLA by 40.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in KLA by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 target price (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Down 8.4%

KLAC stock opened at $874.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $902.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $781.03. 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

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.

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