KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 86.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,174 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 7,616 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $750.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $697.11 and a 200-day moving average of $714.23. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. 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 company has a market cap of $99.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

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.