Marco Investment Management LLC Purchases 629 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Marco Investment Management LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, owning 24,257 shares valued at $16.49 million, constituting about 1.5% of its investment portfolio.
• KLA Corporation reported robust quarterly earnings with an EPS of $8.41, surpassing estimates, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.90, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.82%.
• The company also initiated a share repurchase plan, authorizing the purchase of up to $5 billion worth of shares, indicating confidence in the company's value.

Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 629 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 1.5% of Marco Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $16,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 4.6% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.3% during the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $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 buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $6.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $885.64. 847,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,167,339. The business has a 50 day moving average of $872.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $767.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $945.87. The company has a market capitalization of $117.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $889.12.

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.