Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,732 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $713.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $715.86. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $98.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s payout ratio is 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.