KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,250 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,981 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in KLA were worth $31,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 6.5% during 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 lifted its holdings in KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $825.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on KLA from $850.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $804.67.

KLA Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $5.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $694.61. 631,550 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,247. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $685.61 and a 200 day moving average of $686.74. The stock has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.