California Public Employees Retirement System Has $152.16 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 261,757 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 14,787 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of KLA worth $152,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of KLA by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of KLA stock traded up $13.88 on Tuesday, reaching $647.52. 116,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 951,494. KLA Co. has a one year low of $355.88 and a one year high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $87.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $683.91 and a 200 day moving average of $595.92.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $688.42.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.