JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $950.00 to $900.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $676.31 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $679.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $683.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $750,638,000 after buying an additional 300,015 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.