PFG Advisors Purchases 108 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in KLA were worth $3,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of 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. United Bank purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $339,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 725 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of KLA by 9.3% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 670 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $664.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $723.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $708.11. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. KLA’s payout ratio is 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.