KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,838 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.35.

KLA Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $771.91 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $581.70 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $658.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $723.16. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

KLA 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.