UMB Bank n.a. Sells 73 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

UMB Bank n.a. trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,226 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in KLA were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $767.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $656.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $723.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $102.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $581.70 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $807.35.

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.