Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Acquires 2,592 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,023 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in KLA were worth $29,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% 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

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.74.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $795.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $681.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $685.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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.