Cynosure Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.5 %

KLA stock opened at $686.19 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $722.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $701.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

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.