KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Robocap Asset Management Ltd

Robocap Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,097 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 731 shares during the period. KLA makes up about 3.6% of Robocap Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Robocap Asset Management Ltd's holdings in KLA were worth $4,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 989 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 341 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,287 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,043,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities lifted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.89.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC traded up $3.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $923.18. 600,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,085. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $812.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $737.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $931.09.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.