Legato Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 53.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,287 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,577 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $750.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week 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 50 day moving average price of $690.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $714.89.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

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.