Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 695 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of KLA by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,097 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,369,000 after buying an additional 3,840 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 71,047 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $55,020,000 after buying an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,012,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in shares of KLA by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 4,489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $642.61 on Friday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.44 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. 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 price is $689.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $755.21.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.80.

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.