Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,412 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 80.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,412 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in KLA by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in KLA by 172.2% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,145,000 after purchasing an additional 226,041 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $669.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $703.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $693.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $818.28.

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.