KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.35.

KLA Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $749.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $663.74 and a 200 day moving average of $723.76.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.