Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New $7.10 Million Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,095,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 39.0% in the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,555,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $631.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $712.59 and its 200-day moving average is $760.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.