Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 11,012 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 139.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,895 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,012 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in KLA were worth $11,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 300.0% in 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. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its holdings 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. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Morgan Stanley raised KLA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $804.67.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $32.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $689.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,303,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,221. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $688.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $687.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $91.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 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%. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.