Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,758 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 1.8 %

KLAC opened at $750.74 on Friday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. 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 cap of $99.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $695.06 and its 200 day moving average is $715.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Company 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.