HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 6,101 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 6,101 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $23,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its stake in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $713.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $726.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $707.13.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.