Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 33,413 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 115.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,259 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 33,413 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in KLA were worth $36,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $688.42.

KLA Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $680.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $683.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $590.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.