MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in KLA were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after buying an additional 4,112 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $771.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $658.87 and a 200 day moving average of $723.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.35.

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.