GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $877,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 76,452.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $166,215,000 after purchasing an additional 192,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 4.7 %

KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.36 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $721.02 and its 200-day moving average is $762.59. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

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.