Smith Anglin Financial LLC Has $226,000 Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Smith Anglin Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in KLA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,724 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after acquiring an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $504,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $838,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $721.03 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $552.85 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $651.44 and its 200 day moving average is $726.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $809.10.

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.