KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Cut by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 621,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,366 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 3.3% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $481,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $46,000. Caxton Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 2,853 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,555,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 223,090 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,766,000 after buying an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of 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 reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $639.55 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $710.36 and its 200 day moving average is $760.93. 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 $85.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

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.