Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Purchases 368 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. KLA comprises 1.6% of Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $20,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth about $239,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in KLA by 556.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 105 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the second quarter worth $312,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in KLA by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,178 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,607,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.47.

KLA Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $742.43 on Friday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $581.70 and a one year high of $896.32. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $671.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $718.50. The company has a market cap of $99.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company 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 0.92%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.