JGP Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,670 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 746 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 3.3% of JGP Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $25,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,455 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of KLA by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 566 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,266 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $24,955,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 7,710 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,357,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KLAC traded up $10.21 on Friday, reaching $757.47. 1,402,515 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,292,155. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $654.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $726.15. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $577.00 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. 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 data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $806.60.

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.