Graypoint LLC Sells 30 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Graypoint LLC decreased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,729 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in KLA by 527.3% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in KLA by 270.0% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $937.08 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $942.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $846.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $750.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The company has a market capitalization of $123.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Securities upped 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $840.33.

KLA 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.