KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Cut by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,943 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $10,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in KLA by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $953,774,000 after purchasing an additional 119,845 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Down 7.1 %

KLAC opened at $576.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $716.60 and a 200-day moving average of $700.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $559.76 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

KLA 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.