M&T Bank Corp Raises Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,521 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $10,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,309.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after purchasing an additional 246,244 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,189,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,449,135,000 after purchasing an additional 190,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,431,000 after purchasing an additional 153,752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $696.59 on Monday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $369.66 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $688.02 and a 200-day moving average of $608.56. The stock has a market cap of $93.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $722.26.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.