Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 12,872 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 12,872 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $701.20 on Monday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $678.12 and its 200-day moving average is $684.33. 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 $92.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.