D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in KLA by 0.4% during 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 last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $5,765,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in KLA by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $647.03 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $527.11 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $699.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $757.61.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

About KLA

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.