Fmr LLC Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

FMR LLC lessened its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,133,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 250,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 1.61% of KLA worth $1,344,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in KLA by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $13.46 on Friday, hitting $670.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,361,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,995. The firm has a market cap of $89.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a PEG 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. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $705.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $694.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. 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 1.01%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $818.28.

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.