Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Trims Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 413 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $14,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $931.12 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $945.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $850.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $753.70.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. 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 0.82%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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

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.

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