Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 315.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 232,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $146,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,326,000 after buying an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,190,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $604.62 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $80.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $714.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $698.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio 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.