First County Bank CT Sells 185 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

First County Bank CT trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in KLA were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 55.2% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,719,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $332,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 58.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 44,953 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,053,000 after acquiring an additional 16,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $816.63.

KLA Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $690.87. The stock had a trading volume of 599,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,834. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $649.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $731.80. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $548.84 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released 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. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.