Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Purchases 612 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in KLA Corporation by 94.9% in the first quarter, owning a total of 1,257 shares worth $855,000.
• KLA Corporation recently announced a $5.00 billion share repurchase plan, indicating that the Board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.90 per share, reflecting strong financial performance with a 33.41% net margin and a projected EPS of 31.59 for the current fiscal year.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 94.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in KLA were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in KLA by 9.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,078,526,000 after acquiring an additional 131,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,404,395 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $884,937,000 after purchasing an additional 23,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of KLAC opened at $886.64 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $875.07 and its 200-day moving average is $769.16. The firm has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 25.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Securities upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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