Synovus Financial Corp Sells 486 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. State Street Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $653.76 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $542.41 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $674.82 and its 200 day moving average is $750.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.30.

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.