Mathes Company Inc. Cuts Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Mathes Company Inc. cut its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.6% of Mathes Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Mathes Company Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in KLA by 527.3% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of KLA by 270.0% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $840.33.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KLA

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $924.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $932.17. The stock has a market cap of $122.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $826.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $742.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

About KLA

(Free Report)

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.

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