Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 1,217 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,217 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $942,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $202,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 172.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,026 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in KLA by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 6.9% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 61,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,833,000 after acquiring an additional 3,957 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its position in shares of KLA by 529.7% in the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.30.

KLA Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $646.60 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $542.41 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $680.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $751.66.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were 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 dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

About KLA

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.