Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 36,622 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 36,622 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $39,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,863,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 857,056 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $540,048,000 after acquiring an additional 30,102 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,968 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,185,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,198 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,214 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,806,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Trading Down 2.5 %

KLAC opened at $691.15 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $717.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $713.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 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.