HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 45 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 925 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

KLA Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $686.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $722.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $701.74. The company has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.