M&T Bank Corp Sells 650 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,202 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 650 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $11,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 target price (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

KLA Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $5.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $928.62. 798,133 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,736. The firm has a market cap of $122.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $932.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $817.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $739.01.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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.