9,402 KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 19.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,737 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,402 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 49.3% in the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,508 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. NBH Bank lifted its holdings in KLA by 177.1% during the third quarter. NBH Bank now owns 194 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.1% during the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 6,094 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth $3,765,000. Finally, Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 16.5% in the third quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $161.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $173.70 and its 200-day moving average is $181.74. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $107.20 and a 12-month high of $307.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $209.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.49.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. KLA’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $425.00 price objective on KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.35.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.