Eastern Bank Acquires 454 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has increased its holdings in KLA Corporation by 1.7% in the first quarter, now owning a total of 26,988 shares valued at approximately $18.35 million.
• KLA Corporation recently declared a stock buyback program authorizing the repurchase of $5 billion worth of shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $8.41 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking a 35.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,988 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in KLA were worth $18,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in KLA by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,078,526,000 after acquiring an additional 131,620 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $7.61 on Friday, reaching $886.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,474,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,791. The company has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $945.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $872.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $767.52.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.