KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 41.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 855 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 6,268 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,950,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its stake in KLA by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 491 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA raised its holdings in KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 38,107 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $24,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 820 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $812.47.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $10.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $712.97. 727,469 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,267,999. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $669.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $718.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $581.70 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.