Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 17,558 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 17,558 shares during the period. KLA makes up approximately 1.3% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in KLA were worth $61,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen cut their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $815.55.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $5.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $644.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,912,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,241. The firm has a market cap of $86.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.29. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $527.11 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $708.52 and its 200 day moving average is $760.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. KLA’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

KLA Company 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.