Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Invests $183,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in KLA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 537 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 2.3 %

KLAC opened at $705.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $730.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $703.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.96%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

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.