Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires New Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.1%

KLAC opened at $893.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $118.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $744.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $712.21. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $914.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $807.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.