Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New $827,000 Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,068 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $827,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 538.5% during the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after buying an additional 23,747 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its position in KLA by 39.0% in the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $632.14 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $84.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $704.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

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.