Groupama Asset Managment Grows Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 94.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,046,472,000 after acquiring an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in KLA by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $682.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $724.58 and its 200 day moving average is $701.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

KLA Profile

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.