KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 470 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after buying an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after buying an additional 226,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $760.95 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 stock has a market capitalization of $101.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $661.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $723.50. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $581.70 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.35.

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.