Seeds Investor LLC Trims Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Seeds Investor LLC cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 511 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Seeds Investor LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during 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. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its position in KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $818.28.

KLA Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $670.22 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $89.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $705.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $693.97.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued 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 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.