West Tower Group LLC Buys New Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. United Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $339,000. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in KLA by 142.4% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 39.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 2.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 17,764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,756,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $710.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $727.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $704.39. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 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.