KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 342,189 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $215,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd 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. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $128,482,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.9 %

KLAC stock opened at $738.52 on Thursday. 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 PE ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $713.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $715.86. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen lowered 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.