Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $32.46 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $32,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after buying an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $708.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $716.87 and a 200 day moving average of $714.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. KLA’s dividend 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.