Perpetual Ltd Reduces Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Perpetual Ltd lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 62.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 580 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 978 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of KLA by 655.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $760.95 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $101.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $661.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $723.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.35.

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.