Wealthspire Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Wealthspire Advisors LLC has invested approximately $239,000 in KLA Corporation by acquiring 352 shares, as reported in its recent 13F filing.
• In the latest earnings report, KLA Corporation surpassed analyst estimates with an EPS of $9.38 and a revenue of $3.17 billion, marking a 23.6% increase year-over-year.
• KLA has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share and initiated a stock buyback program worth $5.00 billion, signaling confidence in the stock's value.

Wealthspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in KLA by 33.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $187,212,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 421.8% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $205,048,000 after acquiring an additional 263,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $25.35 on Tuesday, hitting $935.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,027,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,288. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $891.37 and a 200 day moving average of $775.32. The company has a market cap of $123.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44.

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

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.