Impax Asset Management Group plc Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 51.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 254,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,077 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in KLA were worth $160,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 260.7% in the 3rd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Down 3.0 %

KLAC stock opened at $754.30 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $708.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $715.96. The stock has a market cap of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

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.