KLA Corporation $KLAC Holdings Raised by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Atomic Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 781.8% in 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. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2,275.0% in 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. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KLA from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.1%

KLA stock opened at $152.99 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $107.20 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $173.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.69.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

KLA Company 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.