Connable Office Inc. Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Connable Office Inc. reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,170 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 793 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $645.00 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-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 company has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $724.45 and a 200 day moving average of $764.10.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.