Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 147,785 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 182,708 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 147,785 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $106,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of KLA by 6,309.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,410,000 after purchasing an additional 246,244 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $132,189,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,449,135,000 after purchasing an additional 190,355 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $626,431,000 after purchasing an additional 153,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.7 %

KLA stock traded up $11.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $677.34. The stock had a trading volume of 266,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,682. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $369.66 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $687.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $604.86.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.26.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.