Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Grows Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 1.4%, owning 75,018 shares valued at approximately $50.99 million, which makes it the 26th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Recent analyst reports have revised KLA's price targets, with UBS Group raising it from $775 to $960, while Needham & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a target of $830.
• KLA Corporation announced a $5.00 billion share buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend from $1.70 to $1.90 per share, reflecting a growing confidence in the company’s valuation and performance.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,018 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. KLA makes up 1.2% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.06% of KLA worth $50,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at $207,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in KLA by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,925 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $15,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,389,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 946 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 569 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $858.19.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded down $41.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $883.75. 1,190,506 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,161,425. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $116.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $870.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $766.22. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.