Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Boosts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 86,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $54,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in KLA by 538.5% during the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $581.70 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $673.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $718.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.32.

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.