Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Has $7.64 Million Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 2.6%, now holding 11,244 shares valued at approximately $7.64 million, making it the firm's 16th largest position.
• KLA has received multiple analyst upgrades, with TD Securities raising its price target to $800 and Stifel Nicolaus increasing it to $922, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of approximately $890.59.
• Despite insider sales by key executives, including CFO Bren D. Higgins who sold shares worth over $781,000, KLA's strong quarterly earnings and stock buyback authorization signal confidence in the company's future performance.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,244 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. KLA comprises 1.3% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $7,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 95,141.6% during the first 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 27.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 421.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $205,048,000 after buying an additional 263,051 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $2.74 on Friday, reaching $914.80. 719,495 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,018,441. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87. The business's 50-day moving average is $888.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $774.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 25.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.