Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $277.92 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 84.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 201,649 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in KLA were worth $277,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $166,215,000 after acquiring an additional 192,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $809.10.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $701.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $651.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $726.56. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $552.85 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.