Great Lakes Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. PFG Advisors boosted its holdings in KLA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in KLA by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna raised their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $713.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $609.40 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $726.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $705.71. The firm has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

About KLA

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.