KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.6% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $914.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $945.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $888.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $774.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $890.59.

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.