Mackenzie Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,124 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 6,808 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $12,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,563,000. Bensler LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 18,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,946,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 610,049 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $384,404,000 after acquiring an additional 59,100 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,655,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, 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 value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded down $24.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $749.27. 1,717,677 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,090,605. The company has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $700.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $695.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

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.