KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Lessened by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,355 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in KLA by 381.3% during 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 boosted its stake in KLA by 25.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Barclays increased their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 7.1 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $576.53 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $716.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $700.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $559.76 and a 52-week 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (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, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

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.