Great Diamond Partners LLC Has $2.66 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $738.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $673.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $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. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.