Shelton Capital Management Sells 257 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Shelton Capital Management decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,986 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $10,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of KLA by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of KLA by 172.2% during the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Barclays raised their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 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 twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $604.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $80.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $714.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $698.39. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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

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.