Citigroup Inc. Sells 8,767 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Citigroup Inc. cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 8,767 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of KLA worth $379,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $631.22 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $712.59 and its 200 day moving average is $760.85. 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 $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. 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. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.