Progressive Investment Management Corp Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Progressive Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,547 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 1.1% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $1,563,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in KLA by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in KLA by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,326,000 after buying an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $673.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $727.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $703.11.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $825.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.