Zhang Financial LLC Has $2.54 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,036 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen lowered 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. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.60.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

KLAC opened at $757.47 on Monday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $577.00 and a fifty-two 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $654.99 and its 200 day moving average is $724.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.