Hickory Point Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 525 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 525 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $708.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $716.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $714.86. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

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.