Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,716 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,626 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $10,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,865,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.1% in the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in KLA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,388 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in KLA by 25.8% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,558 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 974 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price 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 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $747.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $608.16 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $685.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $716.53. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current year.

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.