Spire Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Spire Wealth Management reduced its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 3.8%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $889.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $763.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $719.49. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction 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 $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.39.

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.