Griffin Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 41.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 6,268 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,950,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank boosted its position in KLA by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 491 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA grew its holdings in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 38,107 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of KLA by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 899 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. TD Cowen reduced their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna upped their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.47.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $702.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $94.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $668.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $719.63. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $581.70 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.