KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $727.15.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $13.96 on Friday, reaching $779.06. 548,554 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 812,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $418.12 and a fifty-two week high of $790.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $701.80 and its 200-day moving average is $634.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.33.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the sale, 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 90 days, insiders sold 33,136 shares of company stock worth $24,016,781. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.