KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 399,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $309,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its holdings 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 shares of KLA by 655.8% in the third 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 during the period. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 39.0% in the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $721.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $763.10. The stock has a market cap of $82.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued 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. 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 last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Argus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.