Western Financial Corp CA Sells 2,617 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Western Financial Corp CA lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 82.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 575 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,617 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in KLA were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Susquehanna increased their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.32.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $98.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $673.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $718.67.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA Company Profile

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.