KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 312.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,037 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,864 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $31,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $840.33.

KLA Stock Down 0.4%

KLAC opened at $924.58 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $826.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $744.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $122.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $932.17.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.