Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $539,000 Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 41.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.47.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $702.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $668.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $719.63. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $581.70 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is 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.