JT Stratford LLC Takes $1.21 Million Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

JT Stratford LLC bought a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,772 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. MIG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 20.1% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 658 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,243,000 after acquiring an additional 4,453 shares during the period. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $883.39 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $903.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $782.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm 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 firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. 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, the stock 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.