Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,366 shares during the period. KLA makes up approximately 3.3% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned 0.46% of KLA worth $481,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Caxton Associates LP increased its holdings in KLA by 3.7% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 2,853 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,993,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $1,555,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 223,090 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,766,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $639.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $710.36 and a 200-day moving average of $760.93. The firm has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

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.