OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Cuts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,190,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of KLA by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,651 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $795.90 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $681.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $685.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following 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 legal 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 shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

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.