Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 378,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 21,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $238,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $680.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $724.79 and a 200 day moving average of $707.91. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.