Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Trims Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 71.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,741 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,359 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $712.97 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $581.70 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $95.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $669.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $718.54.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group upped their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.47.

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.