Hancock Whitney Corp Increases Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 76,452.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $646.78 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $86.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $710.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $760.93. KLA Co. has a one year low of $527.11 and a one year high of $896.32.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Company 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.