Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 10,794 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,168 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 10,794 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $49,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 45,092 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,413,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in KLA by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 95,988 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $60,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve 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 $830.67.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $721.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $730.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $703.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

KLA Company 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.