Norway Savings Bank Sells 80 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Norway Savings Bank reduced its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,110 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.1% in the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in KLA by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $690.87. 599,940 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,004,834. The company has a market cap of $92.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $649.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $731.80. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $548.84 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $816.63.

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.