Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 57 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 833 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Passumpsic Savings Bank raised its stake in KLA by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 1,267 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $994,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 43.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $804.67.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $685.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $685.92. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.