Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 739 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,455 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.3%

KLAC stock opened at $898.85 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $789.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $728.08.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.85%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $818.06.

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.