Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires 16 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 537 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted 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, January 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $750.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $695.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $715.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $99.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.