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 research report report published on Thursday morning.

KLAC has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $805.29.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $795.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.14 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $803.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $746.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,480 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $4,559,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $811,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,781,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.