WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 594 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 594 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $732,464,000 after buying an additional 49,470 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $750.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $695.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $715.48. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. 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.