GAM Holding AG Has $1.76 Million Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GAM Holding AG lifted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,592 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the quarter. GAM Holding AG's holdings in KLA were worth $1,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its stake in KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. TD Securities raised their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $807.06.

KLA Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of KLAC opened at $850.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $755.43 and a 200 day moving average of $716.33. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The firm has a market cap of $112.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.