KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,518 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $4,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its holdings in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $16.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $705.54. The company had a trading volume of 734,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,101. The stock has a market cap of $93.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $730.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $703.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

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.