Gallacher Capital Management LLC Sells 511 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of KLA by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $8.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $896.17. 219,843 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,161,611. The company's 50-day moving average is $859.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $759.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $118.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 target price (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $852.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.