Cullinan Associates Inc. Trims Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cullinan Associates Inc. trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,329 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth $239,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,206,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 294.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 138 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in KLA by 28.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in KLA by 8.5% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,327 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen cut their price target 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. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $740.21 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $595.86 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $675.96 and a 200-day moving average of $716.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.