Avanza Fonder AB Takes $8.56 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,580 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,557,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 76,452.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $756.47 on Friday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $552.85 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $101.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $652.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $726.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.60.

KLA 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.