Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,560 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $15,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $726,555,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 5.5% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $732,464,000 after buying an additional 49,470 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Up 2.4 %

KLAC stock opened at $715.81 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $95.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $720.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $712.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

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.