Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 30.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,302,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in KLA by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 9,085 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 68,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,966,000 after acquiring an additional 5,096 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 23,617 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,289,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $646.78 on Monday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $86.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $710.36 and its 200 day moving average is $760.93.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 1.05%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

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.