AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 36.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 192,181 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 110,720 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $148,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after buying an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of KLA by 136.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 309,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,667,000 after purchasing an additional 178,474 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.29.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $27.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $664.48. 479,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 940,487. The company has a market cap of $89.47 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $453.50 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $749.77 and a 200 day moving average of $763.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.