Trust Co. of Vermont Has $721,000 Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Trust Co. of Vermont lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in KLA were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $757.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $577.00 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $654.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $725.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.60.

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.