KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Holdings Lessened by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 57.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 81,449 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 109,386 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.06% of KLA worth $55,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $5.96 on Friday, hitting $931.12. 682,033 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,345. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $850.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $753.70. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87. The firm has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.