Quantinno Capital Management LP Sells 372 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Quantinno Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,725 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 372 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during 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. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of KLA by 25.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.1%

KLAC opened at $806.00 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $685.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $687.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $106.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

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.