Triodos Investment Management BV Boosts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Triodos Investment Management BV lifted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,250 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 3.8% of Triodos Investment Management BV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Triodos Investment Management BV owned about 0.06% of KLA worth $46,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings 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. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,563,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 60.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,095,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in KLA by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $700.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $93.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $729.51 and a 200-day moving average of $703.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

KLA Company 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.