Cornerstone Advisors LLC Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $678.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $723.10 and its 200-day moving average is $709.19.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA 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.