Arkadios Wealth Advisors Increases Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 240.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,011 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in KLA were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in KLA by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $93,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $920.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $886.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $875.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $768.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 119.79%. The business’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

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.