Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 38,642 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 73.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,942 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,642 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of KLA worth $57,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after buying an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of KLA by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $953,774,000 after buying an additional 119,845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $832.17.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $576.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $546.54 and a 52-week high of $896.32. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $716.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $699.57.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

KLA Company 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.