Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.41% of KLA worth $2,487,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $652.37 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $542.41 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $684.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $753.35.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.30.

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.