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

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna raised their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.35.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $749.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $100.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $663.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $723.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.