Bank of Stockton Has $2.70 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bank of Stockton trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 0.8% of Bank of Stockton’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,630,424,000 after acquiring an additional 145,317 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,408,617 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 945,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $732,464,000 after acquiring an additional 49,470 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $777.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $706.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $715.48. The stock has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

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.