KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Railway Pension Investments Ltd

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,841 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned 0.05% of KLA worth $33,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Shelton Capital Management increased its position in KLA by 7.9% during the first quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 12,058 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,813,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its position in KLA by 93.3% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $347,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in KLA by 11.4% in the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,294 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.9% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.49% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of KLA stock traded down $4.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $552.79. The stock had a trading volume of 104,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,041,365. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $559.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.84.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.35. KLA had a net margin of 30.51% and a return on equity of 119.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.01%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Barclays boosted their price target on KLA from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on KLA from $480.00 to $570.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $450.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $529.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $507.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeneanne Michelle Hanley sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.97, for a total transaction of $254,485.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,554,394.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeneanne Michelle Hanley sold 500 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.97, for a total transaction of $254,485.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,554,394.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.51, for a total value of $1,424,514.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,067,558.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.