Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Decreases Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich decreased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 86.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 277,333 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in KLA were worth $30,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in KLA by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $711.29 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $722.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $710.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.