Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Sells 31 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in KLA were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 76,452.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 441,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $277,916,000 after buying an additional 201,649 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $754.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $706.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $715.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

KLA Profile

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.