Prospera Financial Services Inc Sells 42 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Prospera Financial Services Inc reduced its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 65.9% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of KLA by 246.5% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 4,459 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,115,000 after buying an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in KLA by 35.6% in the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 83.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 141 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Delap Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $323,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $615.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $719.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $763.35. The firm has a market cap of $82.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results 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 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%. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.48%.

KLA 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.