Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires Shares of 1,947 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,947 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after buying an additional 76,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in KLA by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $959,695,000 after purchasing an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $667.73. The stock had a trading volume of 103,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,534. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a one year low of $524.03 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $728.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $765.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

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.