HighTower Advisors LLC Has $23.42 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 6,101 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $23,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $713.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $707.13. KLA Co. has a one year low of $609.40 and a one year high of $896.32. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

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.