OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,085 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 8,755 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after buying an additional 76,226 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after buying an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after buying an additional 21,412 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $666.03 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $524.03 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $731.06 and a 200-day moving average of $765.29. The company has a market capitalization of $89.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.29. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

About KLA

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.