KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP reduced its holdings in KLA Corporation (KLAC) by 56.1% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 7,071 shares valued at approximately $4.8 million.
• KLA is initiating a $5 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the company’s shares are undervalued.
• The company reported strong earnings, with a 9.38 EPS surpassing estimates, and demonstrated a 23.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 56.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,071 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 9,048 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in KLA were worth $4,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in KLA by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the 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 directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $914.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $120.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $945.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $888.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $774.11.

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

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. TD Securities increased their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.

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