J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Invests $201,000 in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG invested approximately $201,000 in KLA Corporation by acquiring 296 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• KLA reported a strong quarterly earnings performance with an earnings per share (EPS) of $9.38, surpassing expectations, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 23.6%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, an increase from the previous dividend of $1.70.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 296 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in KLA by 527.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $883.41 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $945.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $880.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $771.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is 25.01%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.

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