Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,096 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 5,096 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $52,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted 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. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during 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 grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 valued at $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $631.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $527.11 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $706.36 and a 200-day moving average of $759.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.