Apriem Advisors Sells 1,319 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Apriem Advisors cut its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 32.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,708 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,319 shares during the quarter. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in KLA were worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 78,121 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,226,000 after buying an additional 5,257 shares during the period. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,583,000. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,905 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Sabal Trust CO purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $877,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $738.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. 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’s fifty day moving average is $713.74 and its 200 day moving average is $715.86. 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, 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, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

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.