JLB & Associates Inc. Has $13.68 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

JLB & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 319 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 1.9% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $13,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $777.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $703.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $715.04. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders 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 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 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.