Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $166,215,000 after acquiring an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $721.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $762.59. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on KLAC. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

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.