KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 210,932 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 8,022 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.16% of KLA worth $132,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,563,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in KLA by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $38,326,000 after buying an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $804.67.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $693.72 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $683.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $684.37. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $92.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS 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 expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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