Boston Partners Sells 208,201 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Boston Partners decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 67.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,525 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 208,201 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.07% of KLA worth $57,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.4% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $29.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $759.72. 849,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 942,527. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.33. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $403.56 and a twelve month high of $760.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $691.32 and a 200 day moving average of $621.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.31 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,284 shares of company stock valued at $17,260,138 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $820.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $727.15.

KLA 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.