Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Buys New Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $732,464,000 after acquiring an additional 49,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Monday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $98.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $675.96 and its 200 day moving average is $716.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $829.32.

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.