Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 430 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ariadne Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 2,172 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 45,092 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,413,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $721.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $703.37. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.