KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,577 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in KLA were worth $38,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at about $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after buying an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $687.41. 1,278,083 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,755. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $731.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $764.53. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $505.50 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 26.48%.

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.