Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in KLA were worth $10,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $758.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $689.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $715.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 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%. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

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.