CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Acquires 462 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.5 %

KLAC opened at $686.19 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $722.87 and a 200-day moving average of $701.74. The stock has a market cap of $91.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.