Wells Fargo & Company MN Purchases 38,628 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,628 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.19% of KLA worth $162,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $823.83.

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KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $2.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $659.53. 269,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,047,838. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $707.15 and a 200-day moving average of $695.44.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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 was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.