Berkshire Bank Has $370,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Berkshire Bank increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 511 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in KLA by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,744,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $795.39.

KLA Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $892.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $740.39 and its 200 day moving average is $710.94. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is 27.63%.

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.