Capital Market Strategies LLC Trims Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Capital Market Strategies LLC reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 765 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in KLA by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 3,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 5.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 172,389 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $133,500,000 after purchasing an additional 8,830 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $4,700,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in KLA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,739,000 after buying an additional 28,224 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $816.63.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded up $32.96 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $689.97. 743,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 812,746. The company has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $649.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $732.79. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $548.84 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

KLA 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.