Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 20,351 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 232,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 20,351 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of KLA worth $152,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after purchasing an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of KLA by 9.4% during the fourth 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $726,555,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at KLA

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 transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $682.05. 137,837 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,089,524. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $90.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $726.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $702.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.