KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Bought by Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 136,723 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,553 shares during the quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in KLA were worth $26,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in KLA by 899.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in KLA by 239.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,094,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.3% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,113,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $997,000,000 after acquiring an additional 256,716 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on KLA from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,014 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $10,731,526.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 634,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,614,437.22. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 79.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded down $4.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $152.32. 12,499,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,760,776. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.49. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $107.20 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. KLA’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.