Strategic Advocates LLC Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,729 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in 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 buying an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $742.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a one year low of $581.70 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $671.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $718.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.47.

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.