Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $801,000 Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $530,630,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 6,309.1% in 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $132,189,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 190,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of KLA by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $626,431,000 after purchasing an additional 153,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $710.67 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $380.50 and a twelve month high of $729.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $690.90 and its 200-day moving average is $613.54. The company has a market cap of $95.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,284 shares of company stock worth $17,260,138. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $722.26.

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.