Albert D Mason Inc. Acquires 1,439 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 64.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,671 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 1.5% of Albert D Mason Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Albert D Mason Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $2,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,241,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 6,691 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,216,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of KLA by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 104,804 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $66,039,000 after purchasing an additional 26,757 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 780 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,557,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $750.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $806.60.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $10.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $757.47. 1,402,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,800. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $577.00 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $654.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $725.36. 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 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. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.