Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $703,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $297,000. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth $256,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 37.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 8.6% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 832 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in KLA by 59.1% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 25,901 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,356,000 after purchasing an additional 9,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $767.24 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $581.70 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 1.63 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $656.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $723.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $807.35.

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.