Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 2.2% in 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 last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in KLA by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 994 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $224,000. Cercano Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $27,813,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 2.1% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $722.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $763.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

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.