KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Virtus ETF Advisers LLC

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,702 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its holdings in KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the 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 owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $694.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $685.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $686.74. The company has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

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.