Synovus Financial Corp Reduces Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in KLA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $653.76 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $542.41 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $674.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $750.06. The company has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.30.

KLA Company 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.