Center For Asset Management LLC Acquires 46 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Center For Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 899 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Center For Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 4.1% in the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 1.1% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.47.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $749.82 on Monday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $581.70 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $666.45 and a 200-day moving average of $721.89.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.