Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 808 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,795 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 808 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in KLA were worth $2,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $806.60.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $10.21 on Friday, hitting $757.47. 1,402,515 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,800. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The business's fifty day moving average is $654.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $725.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $577.00 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 0.90%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

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.