KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Raised by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,728 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 3.9% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $687.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,755. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $505.50 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $731.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $763.72. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

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.