VCI Wealth Management LLC Buys 19,315 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• VCI Wealth Management initiated a position in KLA Corporation during the third quarter, purchasing 19,315 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 19 Buy ratings and 10 Holds; KLA has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $220.35.
• KLA exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.22 in EPS and $4.14 billion in revenue, with revenue up 28.9% year over year. The company also pays a $0.23 quarterly dividend, yielding about 0.6%.

VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,315 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $3,765,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its position in KLA by 28.1% in the third quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 1,876 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. TSG Advice Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Trek Financial LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 4,989 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,780,926 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $347,787,000 after purchasing an additional 26,638 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $240.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded KLA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.35.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $153.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $199.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company's 50 day moving average is $178.00 and its 200-day moving average is $181.82. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $107.20 and a 12-month high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 91.73%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 237,479 shares of company stock valued at $45,780,736. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

About KLA

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company's product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.

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