Choate Investment Advisors Grows Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 69.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,051 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in KLA were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $339,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 6.3% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 386 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $877,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $713.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $726.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $705.71. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.67.

KLA 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.