GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Buys 522 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,872 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in KLA were worth $17,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 13.8% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $6.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $914.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 489,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,863. The company has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $928.02. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $799.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $731.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, 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 transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $818.06.

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.