1,059 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,059 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $820,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in KLA by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $615.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $82.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $719.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $763.35. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 dividend yield of 1.10%. KLA’s payout ratio is 26.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KLAC. Argus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

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.