KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,925 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted 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 acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in KLA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 826,954 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $640,401,000 after purchasing an additional 13,038 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated 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 KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $639.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $710.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $760.30. The company has a market capitalization of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.