Headlands Technologies LLC Sells 2,989 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Headlands Technologies LLC reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 94.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,989 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in KLA by 6,309.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $132,189,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 190,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 12.7% during 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. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $713.93 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $686.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $603.00. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $369.66 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The firm has a market cap of $96.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $722.26.

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.