Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,083 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its position in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in KLA by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,555,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $716,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.1 %

KLAC stock opened at $645.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $724.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $764.10. The stock has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $527.11 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is 26.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays dropped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group cut their price target 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, Argus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

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.