Savant Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Savant Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased 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 company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $764.28 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $692.63 and its 200 day moving average is $715.14. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors 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 0.89%. 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.