KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $703.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $746.00 to $703.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $815.80.

KLA Stock Down 3.5 %

KLA stock opened at $642.61 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $689.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $755.21. The company has a market cap of $85.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. KLA has a 1-year low of $527.44 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA will post 30.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during 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 buying an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 76,452.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,168,000 after acquiring an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in KLA by 25.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in KLA by 6,188.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 10,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after purchasing an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.