GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,132 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $30.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $614.46. 1,712,201 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,166,842. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $721.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $763.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA's payout ratio is 26.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Company 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.