Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Purchases 29 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $708.84 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $716.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $715.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.