KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,184,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 116,950 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 2.5% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,266,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Delphi Management Inc. MA grew its holdings in KLA by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 1,991 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 126.5% in the fourth quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 44,401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,978,000 after purchasing an additional 23,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.7 %

KLAC stock opened at $718.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $727.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $705.16. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.67.

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.