HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Reduces Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 925 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after purchasing an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in KLA by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 0.5 %

KLAC stock opened at $686.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $722.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $701.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target 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 shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

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.