Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,095,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $631.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $712.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $760.85. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

KLA Company 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.