KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Trimmed by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC cut its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,956 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 1.2% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. LBP AM SA boosted its position in KLA by 113.6% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 6,426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in KLA by 381.3% in the 4th 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. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,388 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,409,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $681.50 on Friday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. 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 company has a market cap of $90.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $725.69 and its 200-day moving average is $707.73.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

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.