Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,354,893 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.48% of KLA worth $1,950,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,393 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 6,666 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,875,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 168,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $97,683,000 after buying an additional 9,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas lifted its stake in KLA by 484.5% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 3,998 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after buying an additional 3,314 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at KLA
In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,284 shares of company stock valued at $17,260,138. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.
KLA Stock Up 1.1 %
Shares of KLAC traded up $7.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $718.27. 448,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,188. The company has a market cap of $96.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $690.91 and its 200-day moving average is $616.33. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $381.82 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.
KLA Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 30.38%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price objective (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $722.26.
Read Our Latest Analysis on KLAC
KLA Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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