Capital International Investors Purchases 14,397 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 2.71% of KLA worth $2,273,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Sarl boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 8,605 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,422,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in KLA by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 143,426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $90,313,000 after buying an additional 5,284 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 964.4% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 100,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $63,424,000 after purchasing an additional 91,198 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $945,000. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $634.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. 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 fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $697.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $691.75.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays boosted 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. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $814.11.

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.