Zacks Investment Management Invests $554,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $641.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $85.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $684.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $753.35. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $542.41 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.30.

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.