Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,806 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,563 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,806 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in KLA by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 6,777 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,270,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its position in shares of KLA by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 1,991 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.67.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $719.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $95.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $728.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $704.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

About KLA

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.