Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Purchases 1,113 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,060 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 1.9% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $807.06.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $871.16 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $747.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $713.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.