KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Position Increased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,373 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,443 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $22,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings 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 worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $9.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $706.49. 2,454,762 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 952,636. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $729.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $703.79. The company has a market cap of $93.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.