Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys 878 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,765 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. KLA makes up approximately 0.5% of Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.35.

KLA Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $749.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $663.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $723.76.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

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.