KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,630 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $28,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,048,728,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in KLA by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in KLA by 6,309.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after purchasing an additional 246,244 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $132,189,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 target price (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $733.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,136 shares of company stock worth $24,016,781. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $34.41 on Wednesday, reaching $784.97. 942,529 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 919,769. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.69 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $713.41 and its 200-day moving average is $649.08. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $791.96.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

About KLA

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.