Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,389 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,830 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of KLA worth $133,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in KLA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in KLA by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 384 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $7.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $629.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,650,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,161. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $659.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $745.56. The stock has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $542.41 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $816.63.

About KLA

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.