Peterson Financial Group Inc. Invests $56,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 73 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter worth $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment 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 target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $527.11 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $721.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $763.10. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 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.