Systematic Alpha Investments LLC Sells 900 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Systematic Alpha Investments LLC lessened its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,061 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $15.64 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $615.15. 587,758 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,030,132. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $710.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $696.59. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $81.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 1.11%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $832.17.

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.