Cohen Capital Management Inc. Sells 25 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cohen Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,687 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in 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 valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of KLA by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after acquiring an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,482,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $754.30 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $708.55 and its 200 day moving average is $715.83. The company has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

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.