Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $488.68 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 775,472 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,583 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.58% of KLA worth $488,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its position 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. increased its position 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 valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related 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 value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $634.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $695.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $690.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $814.11.

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.