KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,187 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 114,444.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after acquiring an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $711.29 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $722.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $710.04. The company has a market cap of $94.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.