Childress Capital Advisors LLC Buys 29 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.3 %

KLA stock opened at $740.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $595.86 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $675.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $716.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share 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 forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.