American Century Companies Inc. Has $128.38 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 203,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 5,579 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $128,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $142,221,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $706.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $729.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $703.24.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

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.