US Bancorp DE Sells 2,561 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,561 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in KLA were worth $43,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in KLA by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,078,526,000 after acquiring an additional 131,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in KLA by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,404,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $884,937,000 after acquiring an additional 23,365 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $980.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $886.64 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $945.87. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $875.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $768.80. The stock has a market cap of $117.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 119.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’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 directly owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.