Argent Trust Co Purchases 905 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co increased its position in KLA Corporation shares by 35.8% in Q1, acquiring an additional 905 shares, raising its total holdings to 3,432 shares worth approximately $2.33 million.
• KLA Corporation's CEO, Richard P. Wallace, sold 10,802 shares for about $7.38 million, representing a 12.06% decrease in his position, while insiders collectively sold 11,860 shares valued at over $8 million in the last three months.
• KLA has announced a $5 billion stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, and recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.70 to $1.90 per share.

Argent Trust Co lifted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 35.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,432 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co's holdings in KLA were worth $2,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in KLA by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $886.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $875.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $769.31.

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

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

KLA 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.

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