3,964 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,964 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,498,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its position in KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $825.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA 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 $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Down 3.8 %

KLA stock opened at $673.60 on Friday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $727.83 and a 200 day moving average of $703.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $89.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

About KLA

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.