Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $2.65 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its holdings in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 7.1 %

KLAC stock opened at $576.53 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $559.76 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $716.60 and its 200-day moving average is $699.79. The firm has a market cap of $76.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

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.