KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 12.1%, owning 3,631 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts project continued growth for KLA Corporation, with price targets raised by various brokerages, including UBS Group and Morgan Stanley, with the average target price currently at $858.19.
• KLA Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share and initiated a stock repurchase program worth $5.00 billion, suggesting the board views the stock as undervalued.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,631 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $2,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,475,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in KLA by 172.2% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $225,145,000 after purchasing an additional 226,041 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $754,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 26,363 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $7.61 on Friday, reaching $886.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,474,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,791. The stock's 50-day moving average is $872.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $767.52. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87. 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 $117.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

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 net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 0.9%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

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.