KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 263 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $683.06 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $549.63 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $91.37 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $650.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $729.52.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm 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 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.47.

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.