World Investment Advisors Acquires 340 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 41.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,160 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in KLA were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $840.33.

KLA Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $9.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $932.20. 304,262 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,185,389. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $817.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $739.01. The company has a market capitalization of $123.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $931.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About KLA

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.