Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,005 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,010 shares during the period. KLA makes up approximately 3.1% of Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in KLA were worth $8,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.35.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $760.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $101.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $661.42 and its 200 day moving average is $723.50. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $581.70 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. 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 31.05%.

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.