Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases New Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 220 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays cut their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.47.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $712.97 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $669.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $718.54. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $581.70 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.