IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $19.61 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,848 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in KLA were worth $19,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake 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 worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 worth $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $6.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $914.70. The company had a trading volume of 489,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,863. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $803.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $732.99. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $928.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $818.06.

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.