519 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Bought by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,787,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,018,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in KLA by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,509 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 771 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $615.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $719.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $763.35. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $527.11 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA 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.