Bridgewater Associates LP Trims Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,841 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 85,641 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.09% of KLA worth $72,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kane Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,406,000. Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 19,843 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,503,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Charis Legacy Partners LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $1,168,000. Chiron Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 208.9% during the fourth quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,948,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $814.11.

KLA Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $7.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $634.43. 1,224,102 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,816. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $697.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $691.75. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.07%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

Insider Activity

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