D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 76,452.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after acquiring an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $647.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $699.34 and a 200 day moving average of $757.61. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

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.