Wells Fargo & Company MN Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 38,628 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in KLA were worth $162,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake 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 valued at $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in KLA by 172.2% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,145,000 after purchasing an additional 226,041 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $576.53 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $716.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $699.57. The company has a market cap of $76.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $546.54 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

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.