Level Four Advisory Services LLC Acquires 196 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in KLA by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in KLA by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in KLA by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $673.60 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $727.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $703.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $825.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.