Smithfield Trust Co Has $534,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Smithfield Trust Co decreased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 851 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna raised their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $715.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $720.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $712.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

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.