Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Reduces Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $711.29 on Monday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $722.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $710.04. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. KLA’s 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.