Achmea Investment Management B.V. Has $58.24 Million Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. trimmed its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,669 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 7,169 shares during the period. KLA accounts for approximately 0.8% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.06% of KLA worth $58,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, 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 transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Up 1.1%

KLAC opened at $902.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $119.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $914.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $773.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $722.42. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $815.39.

KLA Company 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.

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