Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Purchases 1,355 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 10.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,592 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $11,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in KLA by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in KLA by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $5.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $648.34. The company had a trading volume of 862,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,015. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $530.07 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $687.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $754.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.63 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $812.30.

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.