Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $825.00 to $750.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

KLAC has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $814.11.

KLA Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $7.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $634.43. 1,224,102 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,058,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $695.14 and its 200 day moving average is $690.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.