Inspire Investing LLC Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.1% of Inspire Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $9,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its position in KLA by 655.8% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its position in KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after buying an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $771.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $661.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $723.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.35.

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.