Pinebridge Investments L.P. Trims Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,762 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in KLA were worth $28,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in KLA by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in KLA by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $38,326,000 after buying an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,190,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $636.36 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $689.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $688.21. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $804.67.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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 stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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