Horizon Investments LLC Purchases 2,899 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 80.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in KLA by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 6,777 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 1,991 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $105,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $718.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $727.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $705.16.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.