Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,046,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $679.80 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $90.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $726.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $702.34. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.