Jump Financial LLC Sells 18,444 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Jump Financial LLC trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 75.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,067 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 18,444 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $3,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its stake 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. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $814.11.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $15.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $636.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 172,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,071. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $692.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $688.57. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents 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 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.