Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 33.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,798,298 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 923,834 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.34% of KLA worth $1,392,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $5.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $648.34. The company had a trading volume of 862,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,015. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $687.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $754.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $530.07 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.