PFG Advisors Grows Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PFG Advisors raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in KLA were worth $3,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after buying an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in KLA by 32,828.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in KLA by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $953,774,000 after purchasing an additional 119,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $726,555,000 after purchasing an additional 64,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $664.22 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $88.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $723.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $708.11.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.