Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,057 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 17,885 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of KLA worth $49,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.6% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.3% during the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.
KLA Stock Up 1.5%
Shares of KLA stock opened at $949.48 on Thursday. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $952.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $897.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $777.63. The company has a market capitalization of $125.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.
KLA Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.01%.
KLA declared that its board 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 repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.
View Our Latest Analysis on KLAC
Insider Transactions at KLA
In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About KLA
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report).
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