Swiss National Bank Sells 700 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 399,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of KLA worth $309,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $379,678,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after purchasing an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.90.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $614.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $721.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $763.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $527.11 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.48%.

KLA 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.