DRW Securities LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

DRW Securities LLC cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 678 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $631.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 1.35 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $706.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $759.85. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business 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 revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. 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

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

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.