O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 3,633 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,633 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $15,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $339,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in KLA by 60.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 22,229 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,214,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $95,130,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $673.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $727.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $702.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $825.39.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.