V Square Quantitative Management LLC Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,547 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in KLA by 655.8% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its stake in KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $750.74 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $695.06 and a 200 day moving average of $715.48. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $99.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.