Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Has $15.62 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lowered its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 75.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,795 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 77,426 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in KLA were worth $15,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 31,122 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,611,000 after acquiring an additional 17,168 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,069,000. Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 98.1% in the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 99,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,437,000 after purchasing an additional 49,067 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,760 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $546,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $790.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $692.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $689.75. The company has a market cap of $104.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $799.58.

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.