PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,287 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $14,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the third 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. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its position in KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 14.1% during the third 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. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,008,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $678.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $723.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $709.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, 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 company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

KLA Company 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.