Citigroup Inc. Reduces Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 5.4%, selling 26,576 shares, and now holds about $315.87 million worth of shares in the company.
• Large institutional investors like Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased their holdings, with Goldman Sachs raising its position by 27.9% during the first quarter.
• KLA Corporation recently reported $9.38 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share to be paid in September.

Citigroup Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,649 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 26,576 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.35% of KLA worth $315,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 4.6% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors grew its position in KLA by 1.3% in the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 3.8% in the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.3% in the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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. The trade was 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 insiders.

KLA Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $2.74 on Friday, hitting $914.80. 719,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,018,441. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87. The company has a market cap of $120.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $888.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $774.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.