Bailard Inc. Trims Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bailard Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $708.84 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $716.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $714.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

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.