Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.05% of KLA worth $44,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $716.46 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $729.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $704.58. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

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.