Ninety One UK Ltd Has $7.16 Million Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 83.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,528 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 51,777 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in KLA were worth $7,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 3.8% during the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $6.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $929.48. 317,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,890. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $817.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $739.01. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $932.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The company 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 business earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA 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 value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 price objective (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $840.33.

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.