Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,838 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. State Street Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in KLA by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $771.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $658.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $723.16.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.35.

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.