West Coast Financial LLC Lowers Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

West Coast Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 61.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,527 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,001 shares during the quarter. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 4.3 %

KLAC traded up $31.01 on Thursday, hitting $747.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,018,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,069. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $552.85 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $652.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $726.49. The company has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $809.10.

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.