Pitcairn Co. Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pitcairn Co. decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 48.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 538.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in KLA by 39.0% in the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $639.55 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $527.11 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $710.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $760.62. The stock has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. 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 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 analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Barclays reduced their target price on 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 reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

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.