Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 40,070 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in KLA Corporation by 8.0%, acquiring an additional 40,070 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 542,236 shares valued at $368.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have also recently boosted their stakes in KLA, indicating strong institutional interest in the semiconductor company.
• KLA reported a quarterly EPS of $9.38, exceeding estimates, and announced a $5 billion share repurchase program, highlighting its confidence in stock value.

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 542,236 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 40,070 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.41% of KLA worth $368,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,221,230,000 after purchasing an additional 80,154 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 27.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% 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, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $912.06 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $885.11 and a 200 day moving average of $773.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $120.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

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.

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