Shelton Capital Management Sells 257 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Shelton Capital Management cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,986 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $10,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its stake in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.17.

KLA Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $604.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $714.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $698.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

KLA 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.