NZS Capital LLC Sells 47,904 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

NZS Capital LLC cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 47,904 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 1.7% of NZS Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. NZS Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $39,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in KLA by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.67.

KLA Stock Up 0.8 %

KLAC opened at $694.61 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $685.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $685.92. The company has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.