Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,427 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,726 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of KLA worth $54,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of KLA by 25.2% in the 4th 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 position in shares of KLA by 172.2% in the 4th 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research 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 stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $818.28.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $13.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $670.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,361,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,963. 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 $89.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $705.57 and its 200-day moving average is $693.97.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.