Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Has $3.50 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in KLA by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in KLA by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 357,305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $225,145,000 after purchasing an additional 226,041 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $818.28.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $670.22 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $705.57 and a 200-day moving average of $693.97. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $89.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.