KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) PT Lowered to $680.00 at Susquehanna

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target cut by Susquehanna from $730.00 to $680.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a buy rating and a $820.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $980.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays upgraded KLA from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $630.00 to $765.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $806.24.

KLA Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $787.39 on Thursday. KLA has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $809.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $716.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.25, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,480 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,511,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,559,000. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in KLA by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.