Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,930 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $8,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in KLA by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after buying an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $128,482,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $691.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $717.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $713.28. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

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%. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.