KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stake

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,740 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,950 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in KLA were worth $23,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in KLA by 11.6% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 5,033 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in shares of KLA by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 56,947 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,101,000 after acquiring an additional 7,445 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 8,510 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 140.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 1.1%

KLA stock opened at $152.99 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.76. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $107.20 and a one year high of $307.37.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. 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 presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.35.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About KLA

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.