Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 441 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $706.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $729.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $703.79. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $93.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna lifted 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.