Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New $1.24 Million Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,975 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,244,000.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $14.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $791.17. 1,130,794 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,081,236. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $688.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $688.07. The stock has a market cap of $104.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

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.