Paragon Capital Management Inc. Has $656,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,041 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $749.32 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $677.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $716.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G 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 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 30.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

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.