Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 42,961 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 25.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,699 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 42,961 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.16% of KLA worth $144,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $187,212,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Securities boosted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $818.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $6.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $914.70. The stock had a trading volume of 489,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,863. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $928.02. The stock's 50 day moving average is $803.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $732.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $120.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.