Strategy Asset Managers LLC Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 632 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 27.6% in the 4th 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 period. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,563,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in KLA by 60.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in KLA by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $2.66 on Tuesday, hitting $682.46. 669,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,058. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $726.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $702.34. The firm has a market cap of $90.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $832.17.

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.