Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,172 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,174 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,159,832,000 after buying an additional 76,226 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after purchasing an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,113,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $917,970,000 after buying an additional 81,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna cut their price target on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 3.5 %

KLAC traded down $25.26 on Friday, reaching $702.80. 1,390,673 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 932,352. The company has a market cap of $94.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $796.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $750.59.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

KLA 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.