Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,058 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 11,607 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 260.7% in the 3rd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

KLAC opened at $708.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $716.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $714.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

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.