16,000 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Acquired by Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO

Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO purchased a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,736,000. KLA makes up about 1.2% of Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in shares of KLA by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 87,672 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $55,244,000 after acquiring an additional 8,369 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 4,036 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $767.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $656.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $723.78. The stock has a market cap of $102.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $807.35.

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.