B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 235 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,536 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $679.80 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $726.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $702.34. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $90.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.