Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) by 97.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15,291 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 173.5% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 93 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.13% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $383.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $347.37. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $282.83 and a twelve month high of $457.12.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.46 by $0.35. KLA had a return on equity of 78.72% and a net margin of 36.41%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 20.89 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 16th were issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 13th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.39%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley restated a “maintains” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on KLA from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $450.00 to $505.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on KLA from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “maintains” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on KLA from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.55.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.02, for a total value of $343,760.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 64,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,655,894.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.02, for a total value of $343,760.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 64,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,655,894.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 96 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $30,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,341,440. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,173 shares of company stock worth $390,798. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nanoelectronics industries worldwide. The company offers chip and wafer manufacturing products, including defect inspection and review systems, metrology solutions, in situ process monitoring products, computational lithography software, and data analytics systems for chip manufacturers to manage yield throughout the semiconductor fabrication process.

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