Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 8,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $732,464,000 after acquiring an additional 49,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.47.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $712.97 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $95.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $669.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $718.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.