Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 723 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,566 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of KLA worth $221,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after buying an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $187,212,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $815.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $7.84 on Tuesday, reaching $903.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 433,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,599. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $914.83. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $784.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $726.89. The stock has a market cap of $119.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is 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.