Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 4,359 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 71.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,741 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,359 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s holdings in KLA were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $812.47.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $29.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $742.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,706,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,149. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $671.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $718.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

KLA 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.