Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 13,038 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 826,954 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,038 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of KLA worth $640,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $413,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in KLA by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 2,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 129.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $631.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $712.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $760.85. The company has a market cap of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $527.11 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Company 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.