First County Bank CT Lowers Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

First County Bank CT trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,504 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $631.22 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $712.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $760.85. The firm has a market cap of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS 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. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

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.