Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 27.9%, acquiring an additional 404,634 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.39% of the company valued at over $1.25 billion.
• KLA Corporation recently reported $9.38 EPS for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $3.17 billion, a 23.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company also announced a dividend increase to $1.90 per share, resulting in a 0.9% yield, and approved a $5 billion stock repurchase program.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.39% of KLA worth $1,259,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of KLA by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,078,526,000 after purchasing an additional 131,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,404,395 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $884,937,000 after purchasing an additional 23,365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $2.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $914.80. 719,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,018,441. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44. The business's 50 day moving average is $888.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $774.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 25.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

About KLA

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.