Meeder Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 15,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,584,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in KLA by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 527,196 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $332,197,000 after buying an additional 65,569 shares during the period. Allianz SE bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $3,201,000. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $2,498,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $682.46 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $724.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $701.85. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $90.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

KLA 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.