KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 83.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,019 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 3,183 shares during the period. KLA makes up approximately 2.9% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $4,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. 2Xideas AG raised its stake in shares of KLA by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. 2Xideas AG now owns 16,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,232,000 after acquiring an additional 6,932 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 344.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 32,051 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $20,196,000 after purchasing an additional 24,840 shares during the period. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. raised its position in KLA by 1,717.2% in the 4th quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. now owns 22,533 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares in the last quarter. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,710,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of KLA by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 90,942 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $57,333,000 after buying an additional 38,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA 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 owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $823.83.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $12.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $668.79. 457,800 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,624. The stock has a market cap of $88.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $707.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $695.44. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS 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, research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.