Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Acquires 92 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,691 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in KLA by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 104,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,039,000 after acquiring an additional 26,757 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,557,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its stake in KLA by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,118,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $757.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $654.99 and a 200-day moving average of $726.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $101.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $577.00 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.60.

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.