Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,651 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 169,738 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,651 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $106,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $758.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $699.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $714.19. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.70 per share. 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 payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.