Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $3.81 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,051 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. United Bank bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth $339,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 6.3% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 386 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $877,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 4.6 %

KLAC stock opened at $713.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. 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 twelve month low of $609.40 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $726.81 and its 200-day moving average is $706.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.67.

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.