Arizona State Retirement System Buys 77 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,611 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in KLA were worth $24,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,812 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,553,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 17,852 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,249,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 123,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $77,785,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in KLA by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $715.81 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $720.01 and its 200 day moving average is $712.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $95.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.