Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 794 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has increased its holdings in KLA Corporation by 23.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 794 shares, bringing its total to 4,111 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• KLA announced a $5 billion share buyback program, indicating that its board believes the stock is currently undervalued.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $9.38 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, and witnessed a 23.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,111 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $2,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 95,141.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $750,638,000 after buying an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $187,212,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 421.8% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $205,048,000 after buying an additional 263,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price target (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $79.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $875.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,429,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,154. The firm has a market cap of $115.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $901.18 and a 200-day moving average of $779.37. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, 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 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.