Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,138 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in KLA were worth $10,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 39.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of KLA by 142.4% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 686 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,087,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in KLA by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 1,410 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of KLA stock traded up $7.48 on Monday, reaching $620.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,223,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,165. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $527.11 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $721.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $763.78. The firm has a market cap of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. 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 issued 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase 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%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.48%.

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.