Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 547,359 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,561 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 1.1% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 0.41% of KLA worth $344,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Down 8.2 %

Shares of KLA stock traded down $57.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $645.58. 1,147,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,043,325. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $708.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $696.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA's payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $832.17.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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 shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is 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.