Bailard Inc. Raises Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,563 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,627 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 2,381 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.58.

KLA Trading Up 1.3 %

KLAC traded up $8.33 on Wednesday, reaching $656.54. 872,949 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,146. The company’s 50 day moving average is $684.10 and its 200-day moving average is $597.60. The company has a market cap of $88.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.38 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.