World Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of KLA by 655.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $816.63.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $630.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $666.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $747.29. The company has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $542.41 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. 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.