KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Holdings Reduced by Great Diamond Partners LLC

Great Diamond Partners LLC lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,713 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,465 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,444,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 3,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $1,720,000. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 32,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,239,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $581.70 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $673.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $718.67.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.32.

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.