DGS Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

DGS Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 542 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in KLA by 10,766.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $749.82 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $581.70 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $100.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $666.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $722.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.35.

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.