ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 28,882 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.16% of KLA worth $130,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.74.

KLA Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $805.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $682.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $686.53. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

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.