KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Monetary Management Group Inc.

Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,161,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in KLA by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,326,000 after acquiring an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $656.76 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $707.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $695.44. 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 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $87.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

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.