KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,040 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.47.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $742.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $671.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $718.50. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

About KLA

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.