UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $750,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $690.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $689.04. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.