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

StockNews.com cut shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on KLAC. Barclays raised shares of KLA from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $630.00 to $765.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna restated a neutral rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $747.40.

KLA Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $853.33 on Monday. KLA has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $876.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $770.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $686.67. The company 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. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly 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. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its stake in KLA by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. 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.