KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $713.00 on Monday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $726.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $705.71. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share 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 $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

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.