Boston Partners Sells 415 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Boston Partners reduced its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,956 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in KLA were worth $61,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in KLA by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $945,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,908 shares of company stock valued at $18,038,659. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $955.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $959.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $901.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $779.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.