Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 50 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,078 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $1,008,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 2.8 %

KLA stock opened at $711.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $722.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $711.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

About KLA

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.