Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Has $977,000 Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,551 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 631 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded up $10.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $757.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,402,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,800. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $101.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $577.00 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $654.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $724.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $806.60.

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.