2,480 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Bought by Milestone Asset Management LLC

Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,480 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Swedbank AB increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $21,194,000 after buying an additional 23,747 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $33.00 on Thursday, hitting $745.97. 893,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,247,000. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $581.70 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $671.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $718.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm 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 was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. KLA's payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $812.47.

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.