Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 522 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $719.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $95.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $728.45 and its 200 day moving average is $704.50. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

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.