KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 423,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.4% of Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt’s holdings in KLA were worth $266,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. 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 worth $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 201,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $713.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $715.86. The stock has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.