Empirical Finance LLC Sells 61 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,720 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its holdings in KLA by 52.4% in the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $747.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $687.38 and its 200-day moving average is $716.10. 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 $99.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a one year low of $608.16 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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.