Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,754 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,601,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,048,728,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 52.8% during the third 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. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in KLA by 6,309.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after buying an additional 246,244 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $863.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $116.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $738.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $667.85. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $876.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $747.40.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,136 shares of company stock worth $24,016,781. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.