Comerica Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Comerica Bank reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $19,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,895,000. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in KLA by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 538,196 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $339,132,000 after buying an additional 51,990 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $676.31 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $89.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $679.94 and its 200 day moving average is $683.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.74.

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.