KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 60,070 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,851,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $772,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,711 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,378,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 203,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $128,383,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,988,000 after purchasing an additional 3,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,482 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna upped their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

KLA Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $706.49 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $729.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $703.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

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.