DGS Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

DGS Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 655 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth $4,700,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 317.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,739,000 after purchasing an additional 28,224 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,861 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,929,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.1 %

KLAC stock opened at $653.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $542.41 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $674.82 and its 200 day moving average is $750.06.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.30.

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.