CWA Asset Management Group LLC Purchases Shares of 2,895 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,895 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,242,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 19.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in KLA by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,756,000 after buying an additional 10,594 shares during the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $214,000. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its stake in KLA by 11.8% in the first quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 623 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 30.8% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $687.41 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $731.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $763.72. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $505.50 and a 1-year high of $896.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.