Simmons Bank Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Simmons Bank raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,789 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.2 %

KLAC stock opened at $664.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $728.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $765.24. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $524.03 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is 26.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

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.