7,843 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Bought by Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,843 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,559,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in KLA by 6,309.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,410,000 after acquiring an additional 246,244 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $132,189,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KLA by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,449,135,000 after acquiring an additional 190,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,431,000 after purchasing an additional 153,752 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $727.15.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,284 shares of company stock valued at $17,260,138. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $10.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $749.48. 751,011 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 940,518. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $404.80 and a 12-month high of $763.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $692.20 and a 200 day moving average of $622.15. The company has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.31 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.