Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 30,102 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 857,056 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,102 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $540,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $699.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $92.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $718.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $712.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna upped their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.