Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires New Shares in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has made a new investment in KLA Corporation, acquiring 2,170 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million.
• Research analysts have positive views on KLA, with several firms giving it ratings of "buy" and "overweight", as well as varying target prices, including Oppenheimer's increase to $950.00.
• KLA recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share and has approved a $5.00 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,170 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in KLA by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $187,212,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 421.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $205,048,000 after acquiring an additional 263,051 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in KLA by 13.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $7.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $886.64. 1,474,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 908,113. The company has a market cap of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm's fifty day moving average is $872.48 and its 200 day moving average is $767.52.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 119.79% and a net margin of 33.41%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About KLA

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.