Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Has $1.19 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,895 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $814.11.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $634.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $697.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $691.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Insider Activity

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

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.