Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 388 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,720 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $13,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. KLCM Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 115.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 62,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,191,000 after acquiring an additional 33,413 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA by 431.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,560 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 173.8% in the 4th quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $688.42.

KLA Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $652.22 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $355.88 and a one year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $684.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $591.25. The stock has a market cap of $88.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.