Primecap Management Co. CA Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,184,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 116,950 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 2.5% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 3.90% of KLA worth $3,266,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $718.29 on Tuesday. 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 $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $727.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $705.16. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.