Diversified Trust Co Cuts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Diversified Trust Co lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,938 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 538.5% during the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in KLA by 655.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,112 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $689.30 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $548.84 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $649.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $730.91. The stock has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Susquehanna reduced their target price on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $816.63.

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.