KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Tortoise Investment Management LLC

Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 300.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $30,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in KLA by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,699,000 after acquiring an additional 4,394 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $664.22 on Wednesday. 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 is $723.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $708.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.