Raiffeisen Bank International AG Buys Shares of 50,783 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 50,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,178,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 12.0% in 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 during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $805.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $682.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $686.53. The stock has a market cap of $106.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

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.