Forte Capital LLC ADV Trims Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Forte Capital LLC ADV reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,505 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in KLA were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in KLA by 0.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 17.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in KLA by 44.0% in the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 710 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in KLA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,151 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $777.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $703.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $715.04.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA 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.