SRN Advisors LLC Decreases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

SRN Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,370 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 1.3% of SRN Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after buying an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after purchasing an additional 93,743 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $726,555,000 after purchasing an additional 64,238 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.9 %

KLAC opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $713.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $715.86.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA 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.