Natixis Sells 109,951 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Natixis lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 69.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,643 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 109,951 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in KLA were worth $30,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $804.67.

KLA Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of KLA stock traded up $28.99 on Thursday, hitting $686.10. 647,751 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,060,739. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $91.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $688.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $687.99.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

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.