Avestar Capital LLC Grows Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,542 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its stake in KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its position in KLA by 39.0% during the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $644.67 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $86.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $708.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $760.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. 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

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

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.