Tortoise Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 300.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 36 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in KLA by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings 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 lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after purchasing an additional 93,743 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in KLA by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $953,774,000 after buying an additional 119,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $726,555,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $664.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $723.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $708.11.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was 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.