Huntington National Bank Buys 133 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $12,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in KLA by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

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. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, 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 quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.