Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $6.97 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,579 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in KLA by 2,033.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $852.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 54,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,267. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $770.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $686.67. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $876.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI began coverage on KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $747.40.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.