Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,294 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $24,840,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
KLA Trading Up 0.4 %
NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $2.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $659.53. 269,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,047,838. The firm has a market cap of $87.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $707.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $695.44. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week 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.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.
KLA Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.
Insider Buying and Selling at KLA
In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $823.83.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on KLA
KLA Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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