KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Position Decreased by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,268 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $754.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $708.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $715.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month 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, 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

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.