KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 93.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,108 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's holdings in KLA were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth $554,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $942,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 13.1% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 526 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 17,724 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,726,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,722 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $7.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $676.98. 185,655 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,050,355. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $703.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $693.18.

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KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $814.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.