Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 862 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the second quarter worth $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at $44,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $616.83 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $527.11 and a one year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $82.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $717.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $762.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

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.