KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,655 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $16,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $368,000. Delta Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in KLA by 33.7% during 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 worth $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 421.8% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $205,048,000 after purchasing an additional 263,051 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Up 4.2%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $31.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $788.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,339. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $104.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $696.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $692.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. 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 0.96%. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.