Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,724 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $809.10.

KLA Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $747.26 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $552.85 and a 1 year high of $896.32. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $652.37 and a 200 day moving average of $726.49. The firm has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.