Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Raises Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in KLA by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $953,774,000 after acquiring an additional 119,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $726,555,000 after purchasing an additional 64,238 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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 lifted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.67.

KLA Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $721.85 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $703.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.