StockNews.com Downgrades KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) to Hold

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.55.

KLA Stock Up 0.1 %

KLAC stock opened at $632.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA has a twelve month low of $527.11 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $704.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $758.96. The stock has a market cap of $84.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that KLA will post 30.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,979,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,630,424,000 after purchasing an additional 145,317 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,221,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,487,971,000 after purchasing an additional 93,743 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in KLA by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after purchasing an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.