Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires 72 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in KLA by 11.8% during the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 623 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 40,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,556,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,424 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in KLA by 15.0% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth $3,997,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $666.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $731.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $765.29. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $524.03 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

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.