Bank OZK Cuts Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Bank OZK decreased its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 454 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in KLA were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 22.9% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,243,000 after purchasing an additional 4,453 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 10.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 106.5% in the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in KLA by 107.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,012 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 3.0% in the first quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 1,033 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $883.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $903.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $782.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $959.26. The company has a market capitalization of $116.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.01%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.