KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Raised by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,871 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,421 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned about 0.06% of KLA worth $54,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in KLA by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $14.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $694.35. 962,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,061,843. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $678.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $683.58. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.72%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

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.