KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives “Hold” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

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

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $720.42.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $706.26 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $685.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $599.79. KLA has a 52-week low of $369.00 and a 52-week high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value 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 approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. State of Michigan Retirement System grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA grew its position in KLA by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,277,000 after purchasing an additional 14,251 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 15,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.