Western Financial Corp CA Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Western Financial Corp CA reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 82.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 575 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,617 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in KLA were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $738.24 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $673.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $718.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $581.70 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.32.

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.