Objective Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Objective Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $687.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,278,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,755. KLA Co. has a one year low of $505.50 and a one year high of $896.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $763.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.48%.

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.