New Republic Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

New Republic Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 423 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the quarter. New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 75,018 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,997,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in KLA by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,925 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% 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 valued at $8,196,798. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $902.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $119.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $862.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $762.38. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,035.00 price target (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $848.19.

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.