KLA’s (KLAC) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reiterated a neutral rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $720.42.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $706.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA has a 52 week low of $369.00 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $685.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $599.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share 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 103.31%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. 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 other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’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 directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,048,728,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $627,399,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 52.8% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in KLA by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.