Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Grows Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 696 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $713.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $715.86. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

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.