KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Increased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 725 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $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 valued at $234,168,000 after buying 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 valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. 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 valued at $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after buying an additional 192,849 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given 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.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $645.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $724.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $764.10. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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