KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $722.26.

KLA Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $666.04 on Monday. KLA has a 1-year low of $369.66 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $687.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $604.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 22.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 732 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,558 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,016,000 after acquiring an additional 4,089 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $832,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 94,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,307,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,152 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,747,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.