KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,166 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 37,194 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.38% of KLA worth $316,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in KLA by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.1 %

KLA stock opened at $702.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $678.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $683.85. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 24.72%.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06 % 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.

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.