Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 527,196 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 65,569 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.40% of KLA worth $332,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $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 boosted 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 acquiring an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $825.39.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $673.60 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $727.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $703.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio 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.