Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 31,608 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.45% of KLA worth $2,046,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

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

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

About KLA

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.