KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Lifted by GS Investments Inc.

GS Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up 3.3% of GS Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in KLA by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after buying an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

KLAC stock opened at $719.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $728.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $704.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

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.