KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Jackson Wealth Management LLC

Jackson Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,191 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. KLA comprises approximately 1.6% of Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $13,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Paragon Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in KLA by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 62,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC increased its stake in KLA by 479.9% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 5,689 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 4,708 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in KLA by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $749.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $100.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $677.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $716.00. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $595.86 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.