ING Groep NV Increases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 27,436 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in KLA were worth $61,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $2.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $647.53. The stock had a trading volume of 246,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,420. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $86.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $724.45 and its 200-day moving average is $764.10.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 26.48%.

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.