SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 459 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 459 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $675.96 and a 200-day moving average of $717.84. 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 capitalization of $98.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.32.

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.