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

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 88,177 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in KLA were worth $52,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $631.22 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $712.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $760.85. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $527.11 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.