Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,656 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,229 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of KLA worth $60,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 buying an additional 204,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $840.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $4.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $924.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 570,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,402. The stock has a market cap of $122.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The company's 50-day moving average is $826.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $742.83. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $932.17.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors 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.