Simmons Bank Buys 116 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Simmons Bank grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,905 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Sabal Trust CO purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $877,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 15,741 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,919,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2,248.8% during the fourth quarter. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,400,000 after buying an additional 11,244 shares during the period. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,150,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $713.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $715.86.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.