LMR Partners LLP Trims Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

LMR Partners LLP reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15,040 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Ossiam increased its position in KLA by 2,912.3% in the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 103,956 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,621,000 after acquiring an additional 100,505 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in KLA by 246.5% in the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 4,459 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in KLA by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $620.26 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $721.02 and its 200-day moving average is $763.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

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.