Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,661 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 603 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the fourth 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. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,563,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.
KLA Stock Performance
Shares of KLAC stock traded up $9.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $719.61. The stock had a trading volume of 721,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,307. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $727.78 and its 200 day moving average is $704.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
KLA Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA's payout ratio is currently 28.60%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.67.
View Our Latest Analysis on KLAC
KLA Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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