Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,589 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 6,890 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned about 0.12% of KLA worth $102,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Passumpsic Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.7% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 1,267 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $994,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $310,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $23.70 on Friday, reaching $700.01. 395,727 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,058,840. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $679.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $683.46. The company has a market cap of $93.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.