KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,925 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $15,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in KLA by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 946 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 18.9% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 114,083 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $77,553,000 after acquiring an additional 18,095 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $7.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $886.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,474,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,113. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $872.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $767.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 119.79% and a net margin of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.