Value Partners Investments Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 150.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 613 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in KLA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC traded down $13.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $889.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,175,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,467. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $773.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $722.42. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. The stock has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.40. 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 announced 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 return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.39.

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.