Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 197 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,961 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after purchasing an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $732,464,000 after purchasing an additional 49,470 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $754.30 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $708.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $715.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

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.