Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Has $865,000 Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 54.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,273 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $893.00 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $914.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $118.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $744.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $712.21.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase 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.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $807.06.

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.