GFG Capital LLC Sells 866 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GFG Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,940 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 866 shares during the period. KLA comprises about 1.6% of GFG Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. GFG Capital LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $5,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. increased its position in KLA by 3.8% during the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $4.04 on Friday, hitting $924.58. The stock had a trading volume of 570,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,362. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $932.17. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $822.31 and a 200 day moving average of $740.94. The stock has a market cap of $122.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

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

KLA declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

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.