MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Sells 8,200 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,255 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 8,200 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in KLA were worth $17,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% during the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.4% in the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in KLA by 0.6% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,625 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.7% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 947 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $1.70 on Friday, reaching $698.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,080,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 949,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $662.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $568.27. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. New Street Research initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $685.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $641.05.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.