Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,434 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 3,434 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $12,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,690 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its stake in KLA by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in KLA by 139.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 18,895 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,906,000 after buying an additional 11,012 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $423,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 26,272 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. 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 note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.67.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $689.42 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $686.89 and its 200 day moving average is $687.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.