ING Groep NV Has $61.77 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 52.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.06% of KLA worth $61,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Swedbank AB bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 76,452.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in KLA by 6,188.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in KLA by 2,205.8% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $166,215,000 after purchasing an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight equities 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $645.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,163,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 958,560. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $527.11 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $724.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $764.10.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. KLA's payout ratio is 26.48%.

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.