KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays raised KLA from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $630.00 to $765.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an outperform rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $747.40.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $853.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $770.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $686.67. The stock has a market cap of $114.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $876.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 41,298 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 16,670 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,837 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,090,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $484,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.