Xponance Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Xponance Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd increased its position in KLA by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 15,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,899 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,429,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 17,183 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,988,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,720 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,789,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $14.76 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $644.22. 897,247 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,440. The business has a fifty day moving average of $684.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $591.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $87.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

KLA Company Profile

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.