Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 427.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after buying an additional 201,649 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $128,482,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Trading Down 3.0 %

KLA stock opened at $754.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $708.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $715.96. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.