Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys 53 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,214 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in KLA by 3.6% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 597 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 16.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 819 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 352.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $708.84 on Monday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $716.87 and its 200-day moving average is $714.30. The company has a market capitalization of $94.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. 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.