LVW Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

LVW Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in KLA by 6,188.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $767.24 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $102.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $656.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $723.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $807.35.

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.