Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.68 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $713.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $726.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $706.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

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.