Fiduciary Trust Co Grows Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,555 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $35,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $632.14 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $704.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $758.96. 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 company has a market cap of $84.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $815.55.

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.