Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,049,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 554,875 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,291,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after buying an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 25.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $682.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $724.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $701.85. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid 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 1.00%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA 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.