KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

KLA Stock Down 7.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $576.53 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $559.76 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $716.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $700.07.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors 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 1.18%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.