AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,150 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 12,684 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in KLA were worth $32,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $6.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $782.09. The stock had a trading volume of 839,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,092,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $703.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $697.23.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, 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 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

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.