Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $2.91 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1,050.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,751 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying 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.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,318,329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third 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 period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in KLA by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 21,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $732,464,000 after buying an additional 49,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $812.30.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded up $5.73 on Friday, reaching $648.34. 862,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,015. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $530.07 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $687.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $754.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.