Global Retirement Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 536 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Trading Down 2.2 %

KLA stock opened at $737.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $710.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $715.85. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $98.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.