Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 104.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,068 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 71,906 shares during the period. KLA makes up 0.8% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $109,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% in 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $815.80.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $642.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $85.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $527.44 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $689.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $755.21.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

KLA 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.