Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1,050.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,751 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 32,828.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,318,329,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in KLA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 5.5% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $732,464,000 after purchasing an additional 49,470 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $648.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $687.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $754.27. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $530.07 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.63 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.30.

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.