Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,071 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 34,332 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.25% of KLA worth $209,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of KLA by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after buying an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $679.80 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $726.28 and a 200-day moving average of $702.34. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

KLA 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.