Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 575 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,542 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 1.1% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its position in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% 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 corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $921.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $121.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 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 $921.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $794.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $729.41.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $818.06.

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.