Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Buys New Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 25.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $675.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $716.79. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $581.70 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost 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 0.92%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $829.32.

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.