Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Purchases 8,369 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,672 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.07% of KLA worth $55,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $767.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $102.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $656.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $723.78.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $807.35.

KLA Company 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.