KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Holdings Increased by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 72.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 3,833 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 52,880 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in KLA by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,880 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in KLA by 427.0% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 6,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $754.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $100.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $708.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $715.96. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.