Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 670 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.4% in the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $628.16 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $684.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $594.71. 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 company has a market cap of $84.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.