Fmr LLC Trims Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fmr LLC trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,384,417 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 349,894 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 1.78% of KLA worth $1,846,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in KLA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in KLA by 2.6% during the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.7% in the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $631.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $706.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $759.85. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. 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.