Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 47.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 860 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in KLA were worth $542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 14.1% in the 3rd 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, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $681.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $725.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $707.73.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

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.