CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 2,320 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 80.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 575 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,320 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $686.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $649.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $730.60. KLA Co. has a one year low of $549.63 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $816.63.

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.