TD Asset Management Inc Boosts Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 286,801 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 4,719 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $194,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 4.6% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.3% in the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.8% in the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.3% in the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,035.00 price target (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 7th. TD Securities lifted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $848.19.

KLA Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $902.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $945.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $862.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $761.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.