JGP Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,670 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 3.3% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $25,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.9% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $809.10.

KLA Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $747.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $652.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $726.49. 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 one year low of $552.85 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.