KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Raised by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 527,196 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,569 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in KLA were worth $332,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz SE acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,201,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $2,498,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,314,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $344,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position 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 during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $673.60 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $727.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $703.04. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued 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 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $825.39.

About KLA

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.