Fortis Capital Management LLC Acquires 215 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 23,747 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 39.0% in the third quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $644.55 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $527.11 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $726.46 and a 200-day moving average of $764.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $86.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Argus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA Company 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.