Aviva PLC Purchases 6,507 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,652 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC's holdings in KLA were worth $33,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake 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 buying an additional 292,907 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in KLA by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $953,774,000 after buying an additional 119,845 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $13.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $670.44. 290,815 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,002. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $707.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $695.44. 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 market capitalization of $89.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $823.83.

About KLA

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.