KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) is J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s 6th Largest Position

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,782 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. KLA makes up approximately 1.7% of J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $128,482,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $754.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $708.55 and a 200-day moving average of $715.96. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. 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 dividend 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.