Fiera Capital Corp Cuts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 55.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,903 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,782 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $3,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $687.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,755. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $505.50 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $731.06 and its 200 day moving average is $764.53. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 26.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Argus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.