KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Raised by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,900 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,613 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $16,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. World Investment Advisors raised its position in KLA by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 820 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in KLA by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 258,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $162,858,000 after buying an additional 38,628 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in KLA by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 52,652 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $33,177,000 after buying an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 306,342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $193,032,000 after buying an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in KLA by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 90,942 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $57,333,000 after buying an additional 38,642 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

KLA Trading Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $915.62 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $878.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $770.42. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $945.87. The company has a market capitalization of $121.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The firm's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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