KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Purchased by Brooklyn Investment Group

Key Points

• Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 107%, acquiring a total of 1,012 shares valued at approximately $687,000 by the end of Q1 2023.
• Analysts have raised price targets for KLA, with Citigroup now setting a target of $1,060, indicating strong market confidence, while the consensus target stands at $890.59.
• KLA announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share and has a buyback program to repurchase up to $5 billion in shares, suggesting a belief in the company's undervaluation.

Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 107.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,012 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group's holdings in KLA were worth $687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,889 shares of company stock worth $17,257,637. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Trading Down 0.2%

KLAC traded down $2.11 on Friday, reaching $870.28. 946,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,155,207. The company's 50 day moving average is $904.07 and its 200-day moving average is $784.53. The company has a market cap of $114.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $959.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The company's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

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

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.