Perigon Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC cut its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $902.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $773.81 and its 200-day moving average is $722.42. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $914.83.

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 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The business’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.39.

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.