King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.0 %

KLAC opened at $639.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $710.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $760.30. The company has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a one year low of $527.11 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

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.