Wellington Management Group LLP Has $939.63 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,491,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 307,099 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in KLA were worth $939,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in KLA by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $679.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $726.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $702.34. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 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%. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.