Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Acquires 90 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in KLA were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $757.47 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $577.00 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $654.99 and its 200-day moving average is $725.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.60.

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.