Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 37.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 64,085 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 39,106 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in KLA were worth $40,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $686.19 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $722.87 and its 200 day moving average is $701.74. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. 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 company has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

KLA 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.