Farringdon Capital Ltd. Purchases Shares of 321 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $634.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $695.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $690.32. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $814.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.