Axa S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Axa S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 43.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,372 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,302 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned 0.09% of KLA worth $49,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Manhattan Co. increased its position in shares of KLA by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Colonial Trust Advisors increased its position in KLA by 185.4% in the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth $57,000. 85.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 3,061 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,530,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,909,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 66 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.30, for a total value of $31,369.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,231 shares in the company, valued at $11,041,694.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 3,061 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,530,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,909,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,986 shares of company stock valued at $22,071,950 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com began coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on KLA from $450.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on KLA from $445.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on KLA from $480.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on KLA from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $455.50.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $497.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.35. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $250.20 and a 52-week high of $520.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $485.62 and a 200 day moving average of $435.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.24.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The semiconductor company reported $5.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.58. KLA had a return on equity of 138.06% and a net margin of 32.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.59%.

About KLA

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.