KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,665 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of KLA by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 19,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,350,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,239 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in KLA by 94.1% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 8,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 26,363 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,612,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 7.1 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $576.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $716.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $700.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $559.76 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.