First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 168 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

First Financial Bankshares Inc lessened its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,562 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of KLA by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,713 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in KLA by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 11,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,209,000 after buying an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $315,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its position in shares of KLA by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 11,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 36,373 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,919,000 after acquiring an additional 3,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $710.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $727.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $704.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective 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 target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.