KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 0.0 %

KLAC opened at $702.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $668.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $719.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.47.

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.