National Pension Service Sells 2,070 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,576 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,070 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.22% of KLA worth $185,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fjell Capital LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $1,150,000. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 76.8% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 633 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. FFT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 557 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 41,517 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,161,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $3,069,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $713.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $715.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.