Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in KLA by 82.3% during 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 during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.67.

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KLA Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $21.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $727.73. 730,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,905. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $729.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $703.24. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $609.40 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $96.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. 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.