Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 37,194 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 502,166 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,194 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in KLA were worth $316,425,000 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 KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,273,118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s 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 owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $702.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $678.07 and a 200-day moving average of $683.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $93.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, 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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 24.72%.

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.