KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,664 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 81,168 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in KLA were worth $29,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in KLA by 6.8% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in KLA by 2,275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 781.8% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on KLA from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.35.

KLA Stock Up 5.2%

KLAC stock opened at $161.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $173.70 and its 200 day moving average is $181.74. The stock has a market cap of $209.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.49. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. The business had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.47 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

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.