KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 22,855 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $32,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.8%

KLAC opened at $791.17 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $688.05 and its 200-day moving average is $688.22. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.74.

KLA 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.