Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Korea Investment CORP cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 107,279 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in KLA were worth $67,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $700.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $729.51 and a 200-day moving average of $703.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

KLA Company Profile

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.