Holocene Advisors LP Invests $3.48 Million in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,497 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $642.61 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $689.99 and its 200-day moving average is $755.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $85.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.44 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.80.

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.