KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Avitas Wealth Management LLC

Avitas Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,977 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 76,452.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $749.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $677.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $716.00. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $595.86 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.8 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, January 31st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.