Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 3,960 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $706.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $729.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $703.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.