KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,036 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 32,828.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in KLA by 1.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $10.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $757.47. 1,402,515 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,800. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $654.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $724.46. The company has a market cap of $101.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $577.00 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $806.60.

KLA 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.