Boston Partners Sells 1,148 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Boston Partners trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,148 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.07% of KLA worth $57,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its position in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. United Bank bought a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in KLA by 142.4% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in KLA by 39.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in KLA by 2.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 17,764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,756,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $719.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $728.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $704.50. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

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.