Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 500 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in KLA were worth $17,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Down 3.0 %

KLAC stock opened at $754.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. 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 twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $708.55 and its 200-day moving average is $715.96.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.