Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires 862 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 95.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,767 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in KLA were worth $1,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $616.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $714.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $761.76. The company has a market capitalization of $82.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $527.11 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business 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 company posted $5.74 earnings per share. KLA's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.90.

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.