Avestar Capital LLC Cuts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avestar Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,018 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 524 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.8 %

KLA stock opened at $764.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $692.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $715.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $101.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.68.

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.