Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Has $266,000 Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its position in KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its position in KLA by 655.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

KLA stock opened at $757.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $654.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $724.46. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $577.00 and a 1-year 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.60.

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.