Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $820,000 Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,058 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the first quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $639.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $527.11 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $710.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $760.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

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.