Leelyn Smith LLC Acquires 34 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,777 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in KLA by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in KLA by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after buying an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $718.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $727.37 and its 200 day moving average is $705.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a PEG 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 current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders 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 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.