Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $35.76 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,861 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in KLA were worth $35,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 76,452.4% in the third 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 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $757.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $101.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $654.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $724.46. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $577.00 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.60.

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.