South Dakota Investment Council Sells 150 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,268 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $142,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 27,402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,267,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,535,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 772 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $754.30 on Monday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $708.55 and its 200-day moving average is $715.96. The company has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 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 thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

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.