International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 227,403 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 227,403 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,189,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.17% of KLA at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $682.84 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $92.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $669.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $575.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. KLA’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. New Street Research started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $685.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $643.42.

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.