Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys 18 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $56,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $754,000. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 26,363 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 8,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after acquiring an additional 4,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,239 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $980.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $858.19.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $924.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $870.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $766.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

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

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

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.