Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Sells 631 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. reduced its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,551 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 631 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. State Street Corp increased its stake in KLA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.60.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $757.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $654.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $724.46. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $577.00 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.