NZS Capital LLC Sells 47,904 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

NZS Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 47,904 shares during the period. KLA makes up 1.7% of NZS Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. NZS Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $39,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.67.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $694.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $685.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $685.92.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

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.