World Investment Advisors LLC Takes $128.48 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 165,910 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,482,000. KLA comprises approximately 0.7% of World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. World Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of KLA as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.30.

KLA Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $648.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $687.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $754.35. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $530.07 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

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.