Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Has $359,000 Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $680.39 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $90.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $724.79 and a 200 day moving average of $707.91. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.