KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 18,261 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of KLA worth $71,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its position in shares of 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 period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 4.6 %

KLAC opened at $713.00 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $726.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $706.39.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

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.