Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,051 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of KLA worth $102,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,424 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.4% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 994 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at $224,000. Cercano Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,813,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 2.1% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC traded down $30.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $614.46. 1,712,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 961,993. KLA Co. has a one year low of $527.11 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $721.02 and its 200 day moving average is $762.59. The firm has a market cap of $82.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.