Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $142.22 Million in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 225,703 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,221,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of KLA as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,722,000 after buying an additional 4,112 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $711.29 on Friday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $722.21 and a 200 day moving average of $711.55. The company has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. KLA’s payout ratio is 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.