Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 73.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,942 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,642 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of KLA worth $57,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $818.28.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $13.46 on Friday, reaching $670.22. 1,361,682 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,052,995. The stock has a market cap of $89.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $705.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $694.74. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid 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 yield of 1.01%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

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.