KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Holdings Trimmed by NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan

Key Points

• The NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan reduced its holdings in KLA Corporation by 9.3%, now owning 6,800 shares valued at approximately $4.62 million.
• KLA recently reported quarterly earnings of $9.38 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue up 23.6% year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors has initiated a $5 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 700 shares during the period. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan's holdings in KLA were worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $886.64 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $875.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $769.16. 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 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 119.79% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm'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 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 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays upped their target price on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 price target (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

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.

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