Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 21.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 82,125 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 22,679 shares during the period. KLA accounts for approximately 1.1% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in KLA were worth $55,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 16.9% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at about $408,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 18.1% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 476 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of KLA by 65.2% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 637.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,045 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,149,000 after buying an additional 7,819 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $795.39.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $808.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.85 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $710.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $700.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is 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.