BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Has $17.40 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,464 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,437 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $17,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $647.03 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $527.11 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $699.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $757.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio 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.