KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $713.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $726.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $705.71. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

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 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, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.