Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 781 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 781 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in KLA were worth $7,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in KLA by 2.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,424 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $995,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 994 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $224,000. Cercano Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth $27,813,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 2.1% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $614.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $721.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $762.59. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.48%.

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.