National Bank of Canada FI Increases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 172.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 226,041 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.27% of KLA worth $225,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $679.80 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $726.28 and a 200 day moving average of $702.34. The firm has a market cap of $90.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

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.