Value Partners Investments Inc. Invests $154,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,145,000 after purchasing an additional 226,041 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $670.22 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $705.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $693.97. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. 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 $89.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $818.28.

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.