Brighton Jones LLC Sells 1,224 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Brighton Jones LLC trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,138 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after buying an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.35.

KLA Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $760.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $661.42 and a 200-day moving average of $723.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $101.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.