Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,216 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,216 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 538.5% during the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after buying an additional 23,747 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $53,756,000 after acquiring an additional 10,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of KLA by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $687.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $505.50 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $731.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $763.72.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.99%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

KLA Company 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.