OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Increases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. KLA comprises about 1.1% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of KLA by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 419 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,655,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,563,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of KLA by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 610,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $384,404,000 after acquiring an additional 59,100 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,132,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $712.97 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $581.70 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $669.84 and a 200-day moving average of $718.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.47.

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.