PGGM Investments Lowers Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PGGM Investments lessened its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,117 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,189 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments' holdings in KLA were worth $18,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $33.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $706.26. 1,193,523 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,545. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a one year low of $369.00 and a one year high of $729.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $685.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $600.67.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA's payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $720.42.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.