Lifeworks Advisors LLC Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,535 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth about $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 76,452.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after purchasing an additional 192,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

KLA Trading Up 0.4 %

KLAC stock traded up $2.47 on Thursday, hitting $647.02. 204,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,140. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $724.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $764.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

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.