KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 56.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 88,177 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.05% of KLA worth $52,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 6.8% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 2,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 129.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the third quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC now owns 9,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,080,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $631.22 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $527.11 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $84.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $712.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $760.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group reduced their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.90.

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.