Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 37 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,058 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna cut their price target on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Up 1.0 %

KLAC opened at $639.55 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $710.36 and its 200-day moving average is $760.62. KLA Co. has a one year low of $527.11 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $85.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

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.