Vest Financial LLC Buys 15,899 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 52,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,899 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $32,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $747.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $685.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $716.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $608.16 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.