Fulton Bank N.A. Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in KLA were worth $8,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 55.2% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,719,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth about $332,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA by 2,002.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 925 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 13,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,243 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $4.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $685.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 287,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 994,414. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $549.63 and a 12-month high of $896.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $91.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $649.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $730.91.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup decreased their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $816.63.

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.