KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $33,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired 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 fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 7.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $576.53 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $716.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $699.57. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $546.54 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 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.