KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Boosted by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,363 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $682.46 on Wednesday. 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 $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $724.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $701.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

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.