Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 8,830 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,389 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 8,830 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $133,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 19.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,732 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,100,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $1,521,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $53,756,000 after buying an additional 10,594 shares during the period. Finally, Abbrea Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

KLA Stock Up 0.2 %

KLA stock opened at $687.41 on Friday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $505.50 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $731.06 and a 200-day moving average of $763.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

KLA Company 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.