Czech National Bank Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $809.10.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $690.99 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $552.85 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $650.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $727.43.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

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.