Korea Investment CORP Sells 761 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,279 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.08% of KLA worth $67,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in KLA by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,563,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 60.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of KLA by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $700.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $729.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $703.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.