Pines Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,227 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after buying an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $959,695,000 after purchasing an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.5 %

KLA stock opened at $701.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $651.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $726.56. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $552.85 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $809.10.

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.