KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 60,070 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 60,070 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $37,851,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.67.

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KLA Trading Down 2.3 %

KLAC traded down $16.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $705.54. 734,539 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,101. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $730.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $703.37. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $93.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

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.