Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $5.17 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. State Street Corp grew its stake in KLA by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after buying an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after buying an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $726,555,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $708.84 on Monday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $94.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $716.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $714.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

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.