Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC Acquires 213 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,250 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 1.4% of Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $890.59.

KLA Trading Down 8.4%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $874.94 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $902.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $781.30. The firm has a market cap of $115.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Company 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.