Intellectus Partners LLC Grows Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Intellectus Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 905.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. River Global Investors LLP lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 24,504 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,443,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,287 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,043,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $711.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $722.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $711.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. 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 quarterly 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%. Research analysts predict 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.