Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 198 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management raised its stake in KLA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,284 shares of company stock worth $17,260,138 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $710.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $95.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $690.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $613.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $380.50 and a 12-month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.