Vinva Investment Management Ltd Increases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $710.00 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $94.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $727.78 and a 200 day moving average of $704.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 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.