Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,611 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in KLA were worth $24,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after purchasing an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $128,482,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $715.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $95.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $720.01 and its 200 day moving average is $712.45. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.