Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up about 1.0% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in KLA were worth $916,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in KLA by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,487,971,000 after acquiring an additional 93,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in KLA by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,394,260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $953,774,000 after purchasing an additional 119,845 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.67.

KLA Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $700.00 on Friday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $729.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $703.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $93.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share 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 predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.