KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Decreased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,523 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,594 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in KLA were worth $18,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in KLA by 14.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after buying an additional 4,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $680.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $724.79 and its 200-day moving average is $707.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA 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.