KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Decreased by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,673 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 728 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 1.5% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA 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 report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $644.67 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $86.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $708.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $760.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

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.