HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 41.4% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 6,773 shares worth approximately $4.6 million.
• KLA Corporation announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.90, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend, and initiated a $5 billion share repurchase plan to buy back up to 5.4% of its stock.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for KLA, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $848.19, while some firms have adjusted their price targets up to $920.00.

HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 41.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $4,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 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. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in KLA by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,078,526,000 after purchasing an additional 131,620 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $32.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $892.02. 966,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,160,046. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $870.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $766.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $945.87. The firm has a market cap of $117.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $858.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

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

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.