Penserra Capital Management LLC Purchases 7,021 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 25,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 7,021 shares during the quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $17,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $914.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $120.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $928.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $803.85 and its 200 day moving average is $733.70.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $818.06.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 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.