2,000 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Bought by Belmont Capital LLC

Belmont Capital LLC bought a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in KLA by 25.2% in 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 during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven 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 an average target price of $804.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $29.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $665.76. 354,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $689.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $688.21. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. KLA's payout ratio is 28.60%.

About KLA

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.