Fred Alger Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $24,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after buying an additional 21,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $732,464,000 after acquiring an additional 49,470 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KLAC. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.55.

KLA Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $647.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $699.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $757.61. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $527.11 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

About KLA

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.