Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 176,400 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 315.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.17% of KLA worth $146,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $604.62 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $80.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $714.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $698.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors 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 yield of 1.12%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.