Premier Fund Managers Ltd Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,168 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $615.66 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $719.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $763.35. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $527.11 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 26.48%.

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.