Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 8,830 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 172,389 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,830 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $133,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $816.63.

KLA Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $629.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $659.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $745.56. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $542.41 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

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.