KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 309,546 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 7,874 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.23% of KLA worth $203,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 16.3% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 27.5% in the first quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 528 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 49.7% during the first quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,556 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,417,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM increased its position in shares of KLA by 5.8% during the first quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 15,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,385,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in KLA by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,212 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $3.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $923.18. 600,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,137,085. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $931.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $812.85 and its 200-day moving average is $737.73.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.89.

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.