1,956 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Acquired by Qsemble Capital Management LP

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,956 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,515,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 9.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,766,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,680,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in KLA by 358.6% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,112,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $250,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna cut their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

KLA Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $644.67 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $527.11 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $86.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $708.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $760.47.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

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.