Navellier & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Navellier & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 36.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,306 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,340 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $616.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $714.64 and a 200 day moving average of $761.76. 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 company has a market cap of $82.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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 $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 currently 31.05%.

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.