NewEdge Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 1.0% in the first quarter, holding 77,369 shares valued at approximately $52.6 million.
• KLA Corporation recently reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a quarterly revenue increase of 23.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.90 per share and approved a stock repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of $5 billion in shares.

NewEdge Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,369 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 752 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 1.0% of NewEdge Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. NewEdge Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.06% of KLA worth $52,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 4.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors raised its stake in KLA by 1.3% during the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Securities boosted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Up 0.9%

KLAC stock opened at $886.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $875.07 and a 200-day moving average of $769.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 119.79% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Company 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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