Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $1.06 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 886.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $825.39.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $673.60 on Friday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $727.83 and its 200 day moving average is $703.04. 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 $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.