E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the period. KLA makes up about 1.2% of E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $24,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted 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 worth $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $1,008,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $715.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $720.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $712.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment 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, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.