Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 3,561 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lessened its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 547,359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,561 shares during the period. KLA comprises about 1.1% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 0.41% of KLA worth $344,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 52,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,177,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $24,840,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in KLA by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 258,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $162,858,000 after purchasing an additional 38,628 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 7.1 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $576.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $716.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $700.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $559.76 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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 year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

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.