KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,117 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,189 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in KLA were worth $18,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 163.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $720.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $33.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $706.26. 1,193,523 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,545. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $369.00 and a 52-week high of $729.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $685.41 and its 200 day moving average is $599.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 103.31%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

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.