KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Position Increased by ASB Consultores LLC

ASB Consultores LLC raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 482 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the quarter. ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in KLA by 2,205.8% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $166,215,000 after buying an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $663.37 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $741.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $764.25. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $495.10 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.73 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

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.