Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,790 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 18,261 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of KLA worth $71,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised 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. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,563,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.67.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $3.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $716.46. The stock had a trading volume of 628,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,819. The firm's 50 day moving average is $728.45 and its 200 day moving average is $704.50. 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 $95.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

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.