Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 1,019 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its stake in KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 Up 2.4 %

KLAC stock opened at $647.03 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $699.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $757.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Susquehanna cut their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

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.