Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 5,196 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 427.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 5,196 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $142,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in KLA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 27,402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,267,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in KLA by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,535,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 772 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $754.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $708.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $715.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.