Cidel Asset Management Inc. Invests $214,000 in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 315 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 31,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $6.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $914.70. The company had a trading volume of 489,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,863. 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 firm has a market cap of $120.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $928.02. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $803.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $732.99.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $818.06.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.