Argent Trust Co Has $1.59 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,527 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in KLA by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in KLA by 172.2% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,145,000 after buying an additional 226,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $656.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $707.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $695.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.