Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 462 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,032 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $750.74 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $697.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $714.23. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS 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, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

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.