Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 97.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,198 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $3,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded up $19.16 on Friday, reaching $711.29. 1,087,883 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,586. The stock has a market cap of $94.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G 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 fifty day moving average price is $722.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $710.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. KLA's payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.