Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 40,550 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $24,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in KLA by 32,828.8% during the third 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $806.35.

KLA Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $749.82 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $581.70 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $663.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $723.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. 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 0.91%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

KLA Company 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.