KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,002 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in KLA were worth $18,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its position in KLA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 826 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in KLA by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 491 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,223 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,003,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in KLA by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,203 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,360,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of KLAC traded up $10.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $701.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,038,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,177,908. The stock has a market cap of $93.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $651.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $726.56. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $552.85 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $809.10.

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.