Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $4.70 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,092 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $572,224,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 52.8% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 22.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,074,884 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $759,532,000 after acquiring an additional 385,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 10.4% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,844,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,133,396,000 after acquiring an additional 268,104 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in KLA by 6,309.1% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after acquiring an additional 246,244 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. New Street Research began coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $688.42.

KLA Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $8.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $686.88. 78,272 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,134. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $681.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $589.12. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. KLA’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

KLA 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.