Peterson Financial Group Inc. Takes $56,000 Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 73 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $721.02 and a 200 day moving average of $763.10. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $527.11 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a 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 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.