Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Has $83.81 Million Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 131.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 70,000 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $83.8 million.
• KLA recently announced a $5 billion stock repurchase program, indicating the board's belief that the current stock is undervalued.
• The company also disclosed a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, yielding 0.8%, to be paid on September 3rd.

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 131.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,292 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 0.9% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd owned about 0.09% of KLA worth $83,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $5.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $955.41. 992,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $959.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $901.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $779.37. The company has a market capitalization of $126.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,859 shares of company stock worth $10,684,449. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Company 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.