Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 341 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $664.22 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $723.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $708.11.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

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.