Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 7.4% during Q1, owning approximately 0.07% of KLA, valued at $59.43 million.
• KLA Corporation's quarterly earnings topped expectations, with earnings per share of $8.41 and revenue of $3.06 billion, marking a 35.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company approved a stock repurchase plan allowing up to $5 billion for buybacks, indicating confidence in its stock value being undervalued.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,417 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 6,989 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.07% of KLA worth $59,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 95,988 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $60,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $183,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in KLA by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 232,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $152,658,000 after acquiring an additional 20,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $624,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $849.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of KLAC traded down $2.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $902.09. 807,981 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 836,322. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $945.87. The company has a market capitalization of $119.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average price is $862.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $761.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 0.84%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Company 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.