Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 306,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 44,992 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.23% of KLA worth $239,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in KLA by 21.9% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 4,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,302,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,085 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,031,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 8.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 68,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,966,000 after buying an additional 5,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $815.55.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $644.67 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $708.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $760.47. The firm has a market cap of $86.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.