KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $41.04 Million Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,370 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in KLA were worth $41,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in KLA by 81.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 203,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $128,383,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,711 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $772,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $481,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $852.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $29.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $908.06. 304,259 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,650. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $945.87. The stock has a market cap of $120.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $850.60 and its 200 day moving average is $754.52.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The company’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. 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 payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.