KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by abrdn plc

abrdn plc grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 60.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,890 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,619 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in KLA were worth $34,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KLA by 6.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,449,135,000 after acquiring an additional 190,355 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $733,249,000 after purchasing an additional 54,472 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,431,000 after purchasing an additional 153,752 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,267,811 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $581,496,000 after purchasing an additional 117,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 52.8% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $633.64 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $85.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $683.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $595.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

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.