Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Down 2.1 %

KLAC stock opened at $664.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $723.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $708.11. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (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 analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.