River Global Investors LLP Has $15.44 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

River Global Investors LLP lifted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,504 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. KLA comprises approximately 3.0% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in KLA were worth $15,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $711.29 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $722.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $711.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Company 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.