Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 26 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,051 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 26 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,799,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 891 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors raised its position in KLA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $713.00 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $726.81 and a 200-day moving average of $706.39. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. 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.